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SCHLET AND 
SANTIAGO 




Copyright, 1898, by U. J. Falk, W.ldorr-Astoria, New Vork. 




/Ct^Ay a^!^A^4^ J^.^.. 



SCHLEY AND 
SANTIAGO 



AN HISTORICAL ACCOUNT of 

the Blockade and Final 

Destruction of the Spanish Fleet 

under command of Admiral Pasquale 

Cervera, July 3, 1898. 



By GEORGE EDWARD GRAHAM, 

together with a Personal Narrative 
of the Fight, hy Rcar-Adiniral 
Winfield Scott Schley, U. S. N. 



Illustrated with Photographs taken 
by the Author during the Cruise, and 
during the Battle. 



Chicago 
W. B. CONKEY COMPANY 

Publishers 



THE •- *'iAr.Y 
Two Co«^M Reoov«f> 

JAM. 22 1902 

LASS «, XXo. Ito. 

copy a 



COPYRIGHT, 

IQ02, BY 

IF. i?. CON KEY 
C O M P A N Y 

ALL RIGHTS 
RESER VED 



^ 



^y 



A 



'C^ 




''Mankind measures a soldier's ability by 
his successes. As victory is the aim of all 
strategy and tactics, it is proper that general- 
ship should be judged by the results attained. 
The immutable principles of war should be car- 
ried out whenever it is possible to do so, but 
ivhen they conflict, the leader mtist carry out 
those which offer the greatest advantages.'' 

— Old Book on War Tactics. 



TRIBUTE 



TO 



REAR-ADMIRAL SCHLET 



BY 



Admiral GEORGE DEJVET, U. S. N. 

Commander-in-Chief of the entire 
Naval Force, Victor at Manila 
Bay, and President of the Naval 
Court of Inquiry : 



Commodore Schley was the senior officer 
of our squadron off Santiago when the Spanish 
squadron attempted to escape. He was in 
absolute commatid, and is entitled to the credit 
due to such commandijig officer for the glorious 
victory which resulted in the total destruction 
of the Spanish ships." 




s 







^/////^^^-A^////^^ 







I NT ROD UCTION 



INTRODUCTION lo 

'7 



Ai't^ f^^4^/' 2^ .^*r /'^•^i 










/^a^4^^ ^^ 



/^U>^ //c, //'^x 



\ 



PREFACE 

1 HE publishers present this book to the pub- 
Kc as the first accurate, detailed account of the 
cruise of the Flying Squadron, the blockade of 
Santiago Harbor, and the destruction of Cer- 
vera's fleet, written by an unprejudiced non- 
combatant. The major portion of the book is 
written by Mr. George Edward Graham, war 
correspondent of the Associated Press, who was 
aboard the Brooklyn, Commodore Schley's 
flagship, during the entire five months of the 
Spanish-American War, when that vessel was 
flying the broad pennant of Commodore 
Schley. It has been thought fit to include in 
the narrative Commodore Schley's own story 
of the fight, told by him in detail since its 
occurrence, and after his promotion to the rank 
of Rear-Admiral. The book has the absolute 
and unqualified endorsement of Rear-Admiral 
Schley, and is the only volume of its kind so 

endorsed. Mr. Graham was especially quali- 
1 1 



PREFACE 12 

fied for the writing of this work by reason of 
the fact that for fifteen years he has been a 
close and trained observer of great public 
events. His special duty aboard the Brooklyn 
was to correctly observe and report the opera- 
tions of the fleet for the Associated Press, and 
during the important movements including the 
battle of July 3d, he was in a better position, 
and was better qualified, to absolutely cor- 
rectly observe all of the stirring events than 
was any other man on any of the vessels. For, 
naturally, every naval officer engaged in action 
was particularly busy with the special duties 
required of him, while Mr. Graham's only duty 
was to record the events, which he did not only 
on paper but with the aid of a camera. The 
majority of the remarkable pictures in this book 
are from films taken by Mr. Graham, many of 
them during action, and they are here pub- 
lished as a whole for the first time. 

The following letters from Rear-Admiral 
Schley and Captain Francis A. Cook, of the 
Brooklyn, are tributes to Mr. Graham which 



PREFACE 13 

aid in stamping him as the real historian of the 
Naval manoeuvres off Santiago: 

(Personal) 
North Atlantic Fleet, Second Squadron, U. S. 

Flagship Brooklyn, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, 

July 6, 1898. 

My Dear Graham: I feel that I should not 
let this opportunity pass without expressing to 
you my high regard for your courage and grit 
on the occasion of the destruction of the Span- 
ish squadron, near Santiago de Cuba, on July 
3, 1898. 

You had facilities for observing and correctly 
recording the account of the action possessed 
by no other correspondent, being at all times 
in the forefront of the fight, and I should place 
great confidence in your report. 

During the whole of the action, coolly watch- 
ing the operations and fearlessly exposing your- 
self to the enemy's fire, you carefully observed 
the manoeuvres of the vessels with a devotion 
to your duty that was in every way worthy of 
a Forbes or a McGahan. 

Hoping for your continued and unvaried 
success, believe me, 

Very sincerely yours, 
W. S. SCHLEY, 
Commodore U. S. Navy. 
George Edward Graham, Esq., Flagship 

Brooklyn. 



PREFACE 14 

U. S. F. S. Brooklyn, First Rate, Guanta- 

namo, Cuba, July 5, 1898. 

My Dear Graham: As you may soon leave 
us, I desire to congratulate you upon your 
courageous performance of duty during the 
action with the Spanish fleet under Admiral 
Cervera, off Santiago de Cuba, on the 3d inst. 
You were either under my personal observation 
or of the officers on deck, all of whom testify 
to your pluck and good work. 

You remained in the open during the entire 
action, at the best point of vantage to observe 
the enemy and our fleet, coolly taking notes 
and thus contributing most valuable and reliable 
information to history and for instruction of 
future generations. 

Yours was a devotion to duty, under heavy 
fire, with no other incentive than to serve the 
best interests of the trust imposed upon you. 

With best wishes for your future, and most 
pleasant impress from an association on board, 
I am cordially yours, 

F. A. COOK, 
Captain, U. S. Navy, Commanding. 
Mr. George E. Graham. 



ILL USTRATIONS 

Winfield Scott Schley / 

Dedication Page // 

The Brooklyn's Junior Officers /// 

Individual Heroes of the Fleet IV 

Captain Francis A. Cook V 

'''■The squadron will proceed to sea'' VI 

" They will never go home" VII 

" The Brooklyn took coal from the Merrifnac" VIII 

*''It was novel to coal two ships" IX 

''Schley, Cook and Philip held a conference" X 

''These men helped to prepare the Merrimac" XI 

" I determined to develop their defenses" XII 

" We moved in two columns" XIII 

"A shell accidentally hit the lighthouse" XIV 

"The marines were in exposed positions" XV 

" We watched the Texas silence the battery" XVI 

' ' They are all out and coming to the west" X VII 

" The crew was at muster" XVIII 

"A big shell came in the gun deck" XIX 

" The Oregon was coming to help the Brooklyn" . . . XX 
" The Brooklyn and Oregon were bow and quarter" XXI 

15 



ILLUSTRATIONS i6 

^''Don't throw that body overboard''' XXII 

*''' The flag was almost shot away'' XXIII 

*^The Colojt had obtained a good lead'' XXIV 

" We've only one more to get" XXV 

''''Those are the fellows who saved the day" XXVI 

" Three cheers for Cojnmodore Schley" XXVII 

" You bullies won the fight" XXVIII 

" There was a hurricane of cheers" XXIX 

Captain Charles E. Clark XXX 

The Commafider-in- Chief and Two Captains. .XXXI 
"Admiral Cervera and his son were rescued" . ..XXXII 

^''Schley went over to see Sampson" XXXIII 

"There was a ragged hole in the Viscaya's bow" XXXIV 
" The Viscaya had been raked by the Oregon" . . .XXXV 
" The Oquendo's steel plates were biilging apart " XXXV I 
"The Teresa had a terrible baptism of fire" . . .XXXVII 

" The Colon turned over in the surf XXXVIII 

The Spanish OfiTicers XXXIX 

Gifts Presented to Admiral Schley XL 



CONTENTS 



CHAPTER I. 
Taking Command P(tg^ 21 

CHAPTER //. 
Man and Hero Page j8 

CHAPTER HI. 
Preparation Page SS 

CHAPTER IV. 
Off to Sea Page 72 

CHAPTER V. 
Clear for Action Page 86 

CHAPTER VI. 
Off Cienfuegos P<^g^ ^02 

CHAPTER VIL 
Coaling P^g^ i^9 

CHAPTER VIII. 
A Will-o'-the- Wisp Page ijj 

CHAPTER IX. 
Finding the Fleet P<ig^ ^48 

17 



CONTENTS 1 8 

CHAPTER X. 
Reconnaissance Pt^g^ i(>5 

CHAPTER XL 
Hobson's Exploit Page 184 

CHAPTER XH. 
An Escape Page 201 

CHAPTER XHI. 
The Bombardment Page 21J 

CHAPTER XIV. 
The Blockade Page 235 

CHAPTER XV. 
The Troops Arrive Page 2§2 

CHAPTER XVI. 
Before the Battle Page 271 

CHAPTER XVII. 
The Enemy Is Escaping Page 2S7 

CHAPTER XVIII. 
The Viscaya Page jo6 

CHAPTER XIX. 
Chasing the Colon Page 322 

CHAPTER XX. 
The Commander-in- Chief Page jjj 



CONTENTS 19 

CHAPTER XXL 
Schley in Battle Page jjj 

CHAPTER XXII. 
Personal Bravery Page jyi 

CHAPTER XXIIL 
Schley's Story P<^g^ 386 

CHAPTER XXIV. 
A Wonderful Chase Page 40J 

CHAPTER XXV. 
The Spanish Ships Page 41 g 

CHAPTER XXVI 
Victor and Vanquished Page 4j8 

CHAPTER XXVII 
Closing Incidents P^g^ 45^ 



SCHLEY AND 

SANTIAGO 



TAKING COMMAND. I. 

C* TANDING on the government dock at 
vj Newport News a pleasant morning, the 
28th of March, 1898, with half-closed eyes one 
might have imagined, looking over the shim- 
mer of blue water, that it was the days of '60; 
that just above, in the broad expanse of water 
lay the American fleet with old-fashioned 
woodwork, high masts, and masses of rigging. 
And just below, a uniquely constructed, original 
ironclad, the Merrimac, getting up steam and 
preparing itself for battle with this unpro- 
tected fleet, about in the same nonchalant 
manner as would a fox in a barnyard, undis- 
turbed, select his prey. And then, up from 
the vicinity of Old Point Comfort there comes 
a little steel "cheese box," the Monitor, its 
deck so low in the water as to allow the light 
waves to almost rush over it, but with a single 
21 



SCHLET 22 

formidable-looking gun pointing from its steel 
turret, and the American flag flying proudly 
from a staff on its after-deck. Those on the 
Merrimac see it, and in answer to the defiant 
wave of the red, white, and blue, there goes 
up the Confederate flag, the success of which 
means the division of the Union. Expectantly 
you wait for the terrible sea duel which ended 
in the defeat of the Merrimac and the salvation 
of the Federal fleet, but just then you open 
your eyes as there strides down the dock by 
you a lithe, active figure that in every motion 
of the body seems to indicate one born to 
command. It is Winfield Scott Schley of the 
United States Navy, carrying in his pocket his 
newly-dated commission as Commodore, and 
his orders to take command of the freshly- 
organized Flying Squadron, which, if war is to 
be declared between Spain and the United 
States, will hunt for the enemy's fleets at sea. 
This is the same man who eight years before 
conveyed to his native Sweden the remains of 
the great Ericsson, the inventor of the first 
steel vessel, that in this very harbor had saved 
the Federal shipping to the glory of the Fed- 
eral flag. 



AND SANTIAGO 23 

He stepped briskly down the walk, and to 
one of the young officers near him, he said, 
"Send word to Captain Cook that I wish to 
raise my flag very quietly. I don't want any 
display." In the offing lay the cruiser Brook- 
lyn, the first-class battleship Massachusetts, 
and the second-class battleship Texas, and a 
very curious picture they presented. From the 
beautiful pure white, with buff trimmings, that 
marks the ships of the American Navy in times 
of peace, hundreds of men swarming like monk- 
eys at their sides and over their superstruc- 
tures, paint brushes in hand, were transforming 
them into sullen, gray monsters, absolutely 
devoid of beauty, but clothed in this Quaker 
hue for the purpose of making them less con- 
spicuous to an enemy's gunners. 

"That's supposed to be atmosphere they are 
painting those ships," said the Commodore, 
with a little laugh, as he waited for the barge 
to be sent to him. And then, pointing out to 
the ships, he said, "I'll take two more like 
those fellows and lick anything Spain can pro- 
vide." 

With him on the pier stood Lieutenant 
James H. Sears, his flag lieutenant, who was 



SCHLET 24 

to be very conspicuous throughout the future 
events, and whose solid advice and thorough 
wisdom were invaluable during the campaign. 
Lieutenant Benjamin W. Wells, flag secre- 
tary, was another of the group, and they, to- 
gether with Lieutenant McCrea, navigator of 
the Brooklyn, composed the escort from the 
flagship. 

It must be remembered that at this time war 
had not been declared, although the terrible 
happening in Havana harbor had made it 
almost impossible to believe that any other 
action could be taken by the United States 
government than that of driving the Spanish 
from the Western Continent. 

Assignments like this of Commodore 
Schley's had been made daily, in absolute 
expectation of war, and in the shipyard just 
above the dock on which he stood that day, 
thousands of men were engaged in preparing 
and building ships for the conflict which was 
bound to ensue. At Havana a board of officers 
had sat in consultation, and in examination of 
witnesses to determine as to whether the Maine 
had been destroyed by Spanish treachery or 
by American carelessness. On the 25th of 



AND SANTIAGO 25 

March they had transmitted their report that 
the Maine had been sunk by an explosion 
from the outside, although they would not 
attribute this explosion to any hostile act of 
the government of Spain. 

Everywhere the people were clamoring for 
war. Fifty million dollars had been voted by 
Congress for national defense; officers had 
been hurried to important stations; govern- 
ment officials were scouring the world for 
ships, ammunition, and coal; and everything 
indicated war, except the attitude of President 
William McKinley, Even at the moment that 
Schley was raising his flag as commander of 
the Flying Squadron, the President was still 
hoping for peace and for some amicable settle- 
ment of the difficulty, and every effort was 
being made to induce the Spanish government 
to withdraw peaceably from the island of Cuba. 

This was the situation on this beautiful 
morning in March, when, at eleven o'clock, 
eight sturdy oarsmen pulled the Commodore's 
barge of the Brooklyn alongside of that gal- 
lant ship, with Commodore Schley in the stern 
sheets. As nimbly as a boy of twenty, this 
man of nearly sixty ran up the companion-way 



SCHLET 26 

to the deck, where Captain Francis A. Cook 
and Lieutenant-Commander Newton E. Mason 
received him aboard. In a few minutes the 
usual salute was fired, and up to the top of the 
masthead went the little blue Commodore's 
flag, which denoted the Brooklyn as the flag- 
ship of the Flying Squadron, and which re- 
mained at the masthead unsullied until it was 
taken down to replace it with the Rear- 
Admiral's flag in New York harbor six months 
later. 

The squadron at this time consisted only of 
three ships: the Brooklyn, the Texas, and the 
Massachusetts; but notification had been sent 
that the Minneapolis and the Columbia, two 
fast cruisers, would join the fleet later on. 

While the Commodore took possession of 
his flagship, true to his orders not to have any 
of the prevailing work stopped, the slapping 
of paint brushes went on, and by nightfall all 
three ships were clad in a somber grayness that 
at any distance, unless with a bright sunshine 
upon them, made them almost a part of the 
atmosphere, or at night, of the darkness. 

I had been assigned by the Associated Press, 
which had received permission from Secretary 



AND SANTIAGO 27 

of the Navy John D. Long, to accompany the 
Flying Squadron, provided the acquiescence 
of Commodore Schley was obtained, and that 
room could be found for my accommodation 
aboard one of the vessels. The detachment 
of Navigating-Officer McCrea a few days after 
Commodore Schley took command, and the fact 
that there was no chaplain aboard the Brook- 
lyn, fortunately secured a place for me aboard 
the flagship, and I was made at once a mem- 
ber of the ward room mess, with the require- 
ment, however, that I would stay ashore at one 
of the hotels until orders were received to put 
to sea, so as not to excite the attention of the 
horde of special newspaper men who were 
applying for permission to go with the squad- 
ron. 

I recollect with great distinctness my first 
conversation with the Commodore on the sub- 
ject of my presence aboard. I presented my 
credentials, including a personal letter from a 
dear friend of his in Washington, Colonel 
Charles A. Boynton, and I must admit, with a 
great deal of fear and trepidation, because, 
while for fifteen years I had associated with 
public men of all classes, I had been given to 



SCHLET 28 

understand that the higher officers of the Navy 
were martinets of the worst kind. Summer 
sun never dispelled morning fog more quickly 
than Schley's smile and handshake dispelled 
that illusion. He questioned me closely about 
my former newspaper connections, dwelling 
particularly upon such points as would indicate 
to him whether I was to be trusted or not with 
matters not for publication. One of his first 
remarks to me was, "If you go along with me 
you will hear a great many more things that 
you must not write or talk about than you will 
things that you can make public." I told him 
that I thought my political training made me 
understand that thoroughly, and that I was 
perfectly willing at any time to submit my 
copy to his censorship. 

His next remark to me was, "Can you 
fight.?" I ventured that I hadn't very much 
experience in that line, and he said, rather 
severely, but with just a twinkle in his eye 
that gave me some encouragement, "We don't 
allow any loafers aboard a man-of-war, and if 
a lot of the men on this ship are killed during 
a combat, you'll have to help take their 
places." Then turning to Lieutenant Sears, 



AND SANTIAGO 29 

who stood near him, he said, "Sears, if this 
young man comes aboard put him at work with 
a six-pounder gun crew. He'll be handy. " I 
saw no particular reason for Sears' smile or 
Lieutenant Wells' broad grin, for at that time 
I considered it a very serious matter. But at 
one thing I was thoroughly delighted, as is 
every other man who has met this fighter of 
such magnetic personality. He had impressed 
me, and yet not suppressed me. He had made 
me feel that he was a quick, brave, energetic 
commander, and in the same breath that he 
had a warm heart, and despite his rank would 
make himself not only the commander, but the 
personal, approachable friend of those beneath 
him. 

And so as the days passed by, I, together 
with every man the Commodore came in con- 
tact with during these straining days of waiting, 
during the exciting hunt for Cervera's fleet, 
during the terrible hours of bombardment and 
battle, grew to love him with that love which 
men ofttimes feel for each other and which 
develops into lifelong, personal attachment. 

And what of this man who sat in his cabin 
on the Brooklyn, giving decisive and quick 



SCHLET 



30 



commands on the one hand, and giving pleas- 
ant, encouraging words on the other? Was he 
hunting for a hero's spurs, or seeking to make 
an original record ? No; his record was already 
made in the annals of the American Navy. 
When but twenty-two and a midshipman in 
the Navy, he was called into the cabin of the 
Niagara in i860, by Captain McKean, and told 
that war had been declared between the North 
and the South, Together with the other officers 
aboard, Schley was asked by the captain if 
he would sign the papers to stand by the old 
flag, and as will be demonstrated later, he 
signed. 

It was this same Schley who, on board the 
U. S, Owasca, captured the first prize of the 
Civil War, and later displayed, in a very laugh- 
able manner, his ambition to command. Capt. 

T of the Owasca, while a splendid fighter 

and otherwise good officer, was sadly addicted 
to drink. The gunboat was lying under Fort 

Morgan, and each morning T , who, 

during the night had accumulated a great deal 
of liquor-made bravery, would order the gun- 
boat run in to fire a few shots at the Fort. The 
demonstration was invariably accompanied by 



AND SANTIAGO 31 

little damage to the forts, but loss of life and 
a good deal of damage to the gunboat. 

Schley overheard the men in the ship com- 
plaining of this, and in an instant made up his 
mind to stop it. While he was thinking it 

over, Captain T came on deck and said, 

"Lieutenant, make ready to run in." 

Ouick as a flash came the evidently muti- 
nous reply, "I'll be d — d if I will. It doesn't 
do any good, and I'm not going to sacrifice life 
for nothing. ' ' 

"Afraid, are you?" sneered T . "Well, 

we'll go in just the same, and you'll be court- 
martialed." 

"No, you won't go in," answered Schley. 
Then, quickly, "Orderly, send the surgeon 
here." 

The surgeon came, and the smooth-faced 
lieutenant said, "I want to know the condition 
of Captain T — , sir." 

A brief examination, and the surgeon said, 
"He is intoxicated, sir." 

"A file of marines!" called Schley. "Lock 
Captain T in his cabin ! ' ' 

The Owasca was part of a small squadron 
commanded by Captain James Alden of the 



SCHLET 



32 



Richmond. The day of this episode the quar- 
termaster of the Richmond reported that a gig 
from the Owasca flying the captain's pennant 
was approaching. Supposing it to be the 
captain of the Owasca, Alden put on his full uni- 
form coat, dressed the side, and the b'swain's 
mate made ready for his three pipes at the 
gangway. 

When the gig came alongside, Lieutenant 
Schley sprang up the ladder and boarded the 
Richmond. 

"I expected to see Captain T of the 

Owasca," said Alden, with perceptible sar- 
casm. 

"I am the commander of the Owasca, sir," 
said Schley. 

"Since when.-*" asked Alden. 

"An hour ago, sir," replied Schley. 

"Where is Captain T .?" 

"Locked up in his cabin, sir, drunk." 

"Who locked him up.''" said Alden. 

"I did. I first put him under arrest, and 
then shut him up in his cabin. Then I took 
command of the ship, and here I am to report 
for orders. ' ' 

Alden was fond of a joke, and he was at first 



AND SANTIAGO 



33 



disposed to laugh at the young officer's sum- 
mary action, but quietly said: 

"Well, the first order I give to you now is 
to lower that pennant in the gig. Go back to 
your ship, sir, unlock that cabin door, and 

restore Captain T to duty. Then report 

to me if the captain's illness still continues, 
and I will take action. Don't be in too great 
a hurry to take command of a ship, Mr. 
Schley." 

Through the Civil War, Schley served with 
a splendid record, but during its continuance 
found time to return to Annapolis and marry 
Miss Nanny Franklin, the handsome and attrac- 
tive daughter of a prosperous merchant there. 
But even his marriage could not keep him 
ashore if there were active duties at sea to be 
performed, and in his desire to make a record 
for himself in his chosen profession his wife 
encouraged him. 

In cruising service, soon after the Civil War, 
he subdued 400 riotous Chinamen on one of 
the Chincha islands; some time later, in order 
to protect American interests which had 
become imperiled by an insurrection, he 
landed a force of marines at LaUnion, San 



SCHLET 34 

Salvador, and took possession of the Custom 
House. 

In 1 87 1 he landed a body of marines at 
Corea and attacked about six times as many 
natives as he had men, but thrashed them 
very soundly. In 1876 he went to the West 
African coast where pirates were menacing 
American commerce, and caught and punished 
a great many of them severely. 

In 1884 the Navy Department issued a call for 
officers to volunteer for an expedition to rescue 
Lieutenant A. W. Greeley, who, while making 
explorations in the Arctic seas, had become 
lost. The call had hardly been made public 
before Schley was in the Department, volun- 
teering his services. He was placed in com- 
mand of the expedition with three ships: the 
Thetis, the Bear, and the Alert. He has him- 
self written very graphically the description of 
this hazardous voyage. One incident in it is 
worth relating: The morning of one day 
found the fleet up against an ice pack, reach- 
ing almost as far as the eye could see and 
making a seemingly solid obstruction to the 
ships. Up in the crow's nest of the Thetis, 
the place occupied usually by a common sailor, 



AND SANTIAGO 35 

employed as a lookout, was Captain Schley. 
The thermometer was many degrees below 
zero and the wind blowing great gusts, which 
made it decidedly unpleasant even for the men 
on deck. His officers begged him to come 
down, but he remained there, taking a cup of 
hot coffee occasionally to help keep out the 
numbing cold. 

Experienced Arctic navigators aboard told 
him that he would not be able to get through 
the pack; in other words, that they might as 
well abandon the expedition. But toward 
afternoon of that day, he called to his deck 
officer, "There is a rift in the pack, and we 
are going through." His officers tried to dis- 
suade him from it, saying they would get 
caught and nipped, but he replied, "Gentle- 
men, there are times when it is a necessity and 
a duty to take risks. This is one of those 
occasions." The ships got through the pack; 
Greeley and his comrades were found in a 
dying condition which forty-eight hours more 
would have ended in death, and were rescued 
and brought to the United States by this in- 
trepid commander. 

In 1890 Schley was detailed to convey the 



SCHLET 36 

remains of Ericsson, the inventor of the Mon- 
itor, to his native Sweden; and in the follow- 
ing year he was ordered to Valparaiso, Chili, 
where civil war was in progress. The United 
States Minister Eagan had taken such action 
as had made the residents consider that the 
Americans were opposed to them and the 
intense feeling finally culminated in bloodshed, 
when two sailors of the Baltimore were killed 
by a mob in the street one night. It was here 
that Schley demonstrated his extraordinary 
diplomacy, for, after investigating the matter, 
he would certainly have been justified in bom- 
barding the town. The men had gone ashore 
with the full assurance of the Intendata that 
they would be protected. Schley was sur- 
prised at night by the sudden visit of a friendly 
merchantman captain and several natives, who 
assured him in an excited way that his men 
were killed, and that his duty was to bombard 
the town. 

"Not much," answered Schley. "I will 
think matters over and will investigate," and 
after sending Lieutenant Scars and his squad 
of marines ashore to look into the matter and 
bring the bodies off, he went to bed. In the 



AND SANTIAGO 37 

meantime, Sears and his marines were taken 
and locked up. Next morning, after making 
inquiry himself, Schley paid a visit to the 
Intendata, an old man, over eighty years of age, 
who received him with fear and trembling, and 
asked him to be seated. 

"No," said Schley, "this is not a sitting 
matter. I want my men released at once, 
and put back on ship." 

"You'll have to see the judge," said the In- 
tendata. 

"No, I won't," roared Schley, while the old 
man crept into the corner. "You order those 
men released, or you'll have trouble. And 
further than that, you'll pay indemnity for 
the two men who were killed last night, or I'll 
blow the tops off your buildings." Then he 
stalked down to his barge, went aboard his 
ship, the Baltimore, requested the German 
man-of-war and the English man-of-war, which 
were on either side of him, to change their 
anchorage, and prepared to carry out his word. 

But in a very short time the Intendata sent 
word that the men were on their way to the 
ship, and that the Chilian government would 
take care of the indemnity. 



SCHLET 38 



MAN AND HERO. 11. 

WITHIN sight of the National Capitol, 
and in the town that gave to America 
Francis Scott Key, the author of the "Star 
Spangled Banner, " Winfield Scott Schley was 
born in 1839. The old Schley farm of "Rich- 
field," an estate of some three hundred acres, 
lying about four miles north of Frederick City 
on the Emmitsburg 'pike, was the home of his 
father and mother, John T. Schley and Vir- 
ginia Schley, and here were entertained many 
of the most prominent men and women of the 
South. A grandson of John Schley — a Bava- 
rian who in the latter part of the eighteenth 
century came to this country and settled 
in the then small town of Frederick, Maryland 
— John Thomas Schley was a prominent figure 
in that state, and the charms of his wife, who 
had been Miss Virginia McClure, brought many 
friends from her native city of Baltimore. 



AND SANTIAGO 



39 



Among those who enjoyed the hospitality of 
the Schley homestead came doughty old Gen- 
eral Winfield Scott, the grizzled veteran hero 
of the Mexican War, and it was in honor of 
the friendship which existed between the two 
men that the baby boy was christened with the 
name which has now grown so beloved and 
so famous throughout the country, Winfield 
Scott Schley. 

During- his early boyhood, Winfield Scott 
Schley and his four brothers and sisters lived 
at the old home, and attended the adjacent 
school. During this time there were no start- 
ling events to recall, no wonderful character- 
istics that marked the boy as a future moulder 
of events and a man of deeds. His life ran 
along as smoothly as does that of any healthy, 
happy, normal American boy, until, when he 
was nine years of age, its even tenor was 
sadly interrupted by the death of his mother. 
Shortly after, the family moved into Frederick 
City, and here the youth became a student at 
St. John's Institute, until three years later, 
when he secured an appointment to the Naval 
Academy at Annapolis. 

It was during his course of study at the acad- 



SCHLET 40 

emy that Schley met his future wife, Miss 
Nanny Franklin, the attractive, accomplished 
daughter of a prosperous merchant of Annap- 
olis, to whom he was married in 1863, three 
years after he had been graduated. 

The first commission given the young mid- 
shipman upon his leaving his alma mater, was 
aboard the U. S. S. Niagara, and on this 
voyage occurred an incident which I have 
often heard him recount with glee, as an 
example of boyish nonsense and mischief. 

The Niagara had been ordered to proceed to 
Japan to convey to their home the members 
of the Japanese Embassy. It was a long, tedi- 
ous trip around the Cape, and diversions w^ere 
few, so, when the ship lay too off the African 
coast and venders of monkeys, parrots, and all 
sorts of tropical pets came aboard, they were 
heartily welcomed. A few members of the 
embassy were greatly delighted with some 
particularly uncanny specimens of the Genus 
Cerccpithcci, and accordingly several were 
transferred to the ships. Ordinarily monkeys, 
and particularly the marmosets, are huge 
favorites with the sailor, but these were 
extremely unpopular. Owing to matters 




Individual Heroes of the Fleet. 

1. Yeoman George H. Ellis. 

2. Lietit. Richmond P. Hobson. 3. Lieut. -Com. Richard Wainvvright 

(iv) 



AND SANTIAGO 41 

diplomatic at that period, it was considered 
advisable to humor and please the Japanese in 
every possible way, and so Captain McKean and 
his officers made no open objection, but deep 
and earnest were the anathemas hurled at the 
simians in private. Having the entire run of 
the ship, no object was too remote, no mast 
too high, no belonging too personal, to escape 
the ravages of the monkeys. Sailors and junior 
officers were particularly incensed against 
them, and one morning, when their misdeeds 
had been especially flagrant, justice was meted 
out to them. Choosing a time when none of 
the embassy or officers were about, Midship- 
man Schley ordered the sailors to catch and 
bring to him two of the very largest and most 
aggressive ringtails, and at the same time 
called for a bucket of slush from the galley. 
Carefully and thoroughly each monkey's tail 
was greased, and then, with a shout, they were 
released and fled, chattering madly, to the 
topmost mast, from which they launched out 
with a leap to the lower studding sail which 
hung out far over the water, thirty feet from 
the deck. But the trusted flexile tails failed 
them, and slipping from cords, clutching and 



SCHLET 42 

shrieking, the two monkeys fell into the China 
sea, while the ship speeded on. Alarmed by 
the cries of their pets, the members of the 
embassy hurried on deck, but from that time 
on the ship was relieved of its pestiferous 
rangers, the rest of them being safely confined. 

In less than a year from the time Schley left 
the Naval Academy, in fact, while the Niagara 
was still on her voyage, the heavy war clouds 
were gathering, but without news until they 
reached America, those on board were as- 
tounded by the announcement of the pilot that 
Sumter had been fired upon, and all the country 
was ablaze. 

Staunch old Captain McKean ordered all his 
officers to his cabin for consultation, and, with 
voice trembling with stress of emotion, and 
with tears dimming his eyes, asked them to 
sign a paper that he had drawn up, and which 
stated that the signers would be true to their 
flag, and to the country which had nurtured 
and trained them. 

And then occurred a most dramatic incident. 
Picture the low, rather dark cabin; a gray- 
haired officer standing in the midst of his men 
and asking them to decide the most momen- 



AND SANTIAGO 43 

tous question of their lives. There they stood, 
Northerner and Southerner, Easterner and 
Westerner, classmates, shipmates, all trained 
to defend the flag they had sworn to guard and 
cherish. Some marched up and signed at 
once, while others lingered, debating, torn by 
duty to country or loyalty to a section. Some, 
with tears, refused to put their names to the 
document, while others with the fiery Southern 
blood, strongly averred they too would stand 
by the Confederacy. 

But almost among the first, Winfield Scott 
Schley stepped to the Captain's side, and 
looking for a moment up through the hatch- 
way to where the stars and stripes fluttered at 
the masthead, he said simply but with deep 
feeling, "I stand by the flag, Captain. I'll 
sign." And who can say that for one moment 
Admiral Schley has ever swerved from his 
loyal love to that flag, which for so many years 
of his life has been the only emblem of his 
far-away country? 

Admiral Schley's deep reverence for the flag 
is clearly shown in the following extract from 
a toast, "The glory that follows the flag," to 
which he responded at a banquet recently 



SCHLET 44 

given in his honor, words which should fill 
every American with patriotism: 

" 'The glory that follows our flag,' is a sig- 
nificant sentence. The flag we all love and 
protect is the oldest flag in the world to-day. 
It is one hundred and twenty-three years old. 
Even the imperial flag of China, the oldest 
empire in the world, is not as old as ours, for 
its shape has been recently changed. Great 
Britain, Russia, France, have all altered theirs. 
The only change that our flag has undergone 
has been in the addition of stars to its beauti- 
ful galaxy. It is the flag of Washington. 
Under it we have gained every victory of our 
Republic, under it we have become rich, under 
it we have become powerful. It has meant lib- 
erty and happiness to whomsoever it has been 
carried. The honor that comes to those who 
follow the flag is the applause of the people. 
There is, perhaps, no place where the love of 
flag and the love of home is greater than in the 
Navy. We are much of the time on the out- 
skirts of civilization, far from our friends, but 
the love of home and the love of kindred keep 
the fires of patriotism burning in our hearts. 
In my own experience recently, and from the 



AND SANTIAGO 45 

days of 1861, I have felt that the greatest 
honor came to him, however humble he might 
be, who could add something to the honor of 
the American name." Those conversant with 
naval history during the War of the Rebellion 
know what splendid work the young lieuten- 
ant did for the preservation of the flag during 
those years. 

With all his wealth of adventure, ana not- 
withstanding his literary abilities and delight- 
ful powers as a raconteur. Admiral Schley has 
studiously avoided rushing into print. While 
a brilliant conversationist, with a remark 
always apt and apropos, the Admiral's sayings 
are never made with an eye to seeing them 
heralded the next day or week. Like Admiral 
Dewey, Schley has kept "golden silence." 
But once has he ever published any story of 
an occurrence in his life, and that was an 
account, most modestly told, of "The Rescue 
of Greeley," issued in 1886 by Scribners. 
That bit of history, thrilling and intensely 
interesting from cover to cover, is yet a mere 
statement of fact, and the author evidently con- 
sidered that in writing it, it was far more for 
the purpose of telling of Greeley's sufferings 



SCHLET 46 

and his near approach to death in the Frozen 
North than an attempt to himself pose before 
the public as a heroic rescuer. 

Aside from his fighting qualities, Admiral 
Schley has been of .great service to the Navy 
Department in other ways. Few who enter 
the beautiful harbor of New York bay know 
that its intricate system of buoying was 
planned by Admiral Schley in 1893; nor, that 
in 1892, while assigned to the lighthouse serv- 
ice with headquarters at Staten Island, it was 
Admiral Schley who first introduced the induc- 
tive telephone system for use on the light 
ships, and thus put these men exiled out in the 
ocean in touch with the main world. 

During the early part of their married life. 
Admiral and Mrs. Schley had a home in Wash- 
ington, and though he was away on sea duty 
the majority of the time, it was here their 
three children were educated. One son has 
inherited his father's martial nature, and 
although he did not enter the Navy, in the 
Army of the United States, Lieutenant 
Thomas Franklin Schley, 23d Regt., U. S. 
Infantry, is winning his laurels. The other 
son, Dr. Winfield Scott Schley, Jr., is a 



AND SANTIAGO 47 

surgeon in St. Luke's Hospital, New York, and 
nearly gave up his life for the sake of science 
during the summer of 1901. His father, who 
had just been relieved from duty with the 
South Atlantic squadron and who was return- 
ing home, was in England when the news 
reached him of his son's dangerous condition. 
Cancelling all engagements, the Admiral 
sailed on the first steamer for America, and all 
through the hot weeks of early summer, was 
day after day by his namesake's bedside, cheer- 
ing him on to victory in his fight with disease. 
The third child, a daughter, Virginia, was 
married in 1890 to Ralph Granville Montague 
Stuart Wortley, a brother of the Earl of 
Warcliffe. The Wortleys reside in New York, 
besides having a charming summer home in 
Connecticut overlooking the Sound, and with 
them the Admiral and Mrs. Schley spend a 
great deal of their leisure time. 

Closely following upon the signing of the 
protocol on August 16, 1898, and shortly after 
the triumphant return of the fleet to New 
York, President McKinley honored Admiral 
Schley by appointing him as the representa- 
tive of the Navy on the Porto Rico Evacua- 



SCHLET 48 

tion Commission, which within sixty days had 
completed its work. 

Some time later, in conversation concerning 
the battle of July 3, 1898, Admiral Schley 
said: "Subsequently, in Porto Rico, I talked 
very frankly with Spanish officers. They said 
a great deal about their honor. We all admit- 
ted it. But one day I told them I thought there 
were four fundamentally wrong military tradi- 
tions in Spain. First, the Spanish government 
thought that Spanish soldiers could fight with- 
out being fed; second, that they could be vigi- 
lant without getting sleep; third, that they 
could be loyal when they were not being paid; 
and fourth, that they were given a language 
so rich and sonorous and full of synonyms that 
they talked too d — d much, and did not learn 
to fight." 

Admiral Schley has been criticised by some 
extreme believers in class distinction as a "hail 
fellow," and one who poses as a good com- 
rade, with a hearty welcome and handshake to 
any, no matter how far down the social ladder, 
so long as his reputation for friendliness is 
maintained. Such an opinion is too unjust to 
be denied, as all who know the true, warm- 




Captain Francis A. Cook. 
(v) 



AND SANTIAGO 49 

hearted, loyal, generous man can witness. It is 
no footlight cordiality with him, but a warm 
courtesy that sees good in all, and refuses to 
believe evil of his most ardent enemies, until 
the proof is so positive it cannot be gainsayed, 
when he always has some kindly excuse to 
make for the offender. 

An instance of this friendly thoughtfulness 
was seen in Annapolis, when the Admiral and 
Mrs. Schley were called there to attend the 
funeral of Mrs. Cook, wife of Captain Francis 
A, Cook, who had commanded the Brooklyn 
during the Spanish War. Hundreds of friends 
and admirers strove for a handclasp or a word 
with the Admiral, and the ovation grew with 
every moment. On his way to the Naval 
Academy, an old man, in working clothes and 
bearing a gardener's tools, passed the Admiral 
without speaking. Suddenly Schley turned, 
and overtaking him, said, "Why, John, don't 
you know me.-*" It was an old resident of 
Annapolis, and as he recognized the speaker, 
the men's hands clasped warmly, and for a 
few moments they stood amicably chatting, 
the Admiral inquiring about little personal 
matters relating to John Hughes that evinced 



SCHLET 50 

a retentive memory and a sincerity of pur- 
pose that evidently gave much pleasure to the 
old gardener. 

On another page I spoke of Admiral Schley's 
reticence in writing or speaking of his achieve- 
ments. Once in conversation he said: "Even 
one man's part in this many-act drama is too 
long, too full of changes and complications, 
too much entangled with the lives and acts of 
others, too intimately identified with the evo- 
lution of his own character and soul, to be seen 
by himself in its true proportions. He can 
only plunge into the sea of his recollections 
and bring up now and then a detached incident 
or name, perhaps trivial enough, perhaps of a 
significance unperceived at the time, yet des- 
tined eventually to be woven into that vast 
fabric of realistic fiction known as history. 
The real sum of his experience, or the memo- 
ries of it, is embodied in his opinions. - Opin- 
ions, as we know, are oftentimes variable; or 
they may be as set as the eternal hills, and yet 
be erroneous. The imagination sees more 
than the eye. Lifelong friendships which 
nothing else could shake are sometimes broken 
by differences of impression and memory — so 



AND SANTIAGO 51 

justly sensitive are men of war as to their per- 
sonal records of bravery and honor. 

"When General Zachary Taylor, after the 
Mexican War, became President," continued 
Admiral Schley, "he was overwhelmed with 
applications from veterans who had partici- 
pated in the battle of Buena Vista. Every 
one of these old soldiers was able to give a 
detailed description of some incident in the 
fight, and would attempt to recall to the gen- 
eral circumstances which he could not in the 
least remember, but which he was obliged to 
conclude he had known and perhaps forgotten. 
At last the old warrior exclaimed, 'Was it a 
dream.? Did I ever fight that battle at all.? I 
thought I was there once, but if all these 
accounts are straight, my memory has tricked 
me.' And," added Schley, "that is the way 
with soldiers and sailors. Each man thinks 
himself the center of action, with all the rest 
revolving around him in secondary orbits. The 
spirit is right and proper enough, and such 
personal narratives are the raw material of his- 
tory, but they require careful editing." 

Few men, perhaps, have received more trib- 
utes of the love, honor, and esteem in which 



SCHLET 52 

they are held by the people, than has Admiral 
Schley. Among his most treasured souvenirs 
is a handsome gold-mounted, ebony cane, pre- 
sented to him by the crew of the U. S. S. Bal- 
timore when he was relieved from that com- 
mand. "You know, sir," said the spokesman 
chosen by the crew, "that when you were an 
officer, regulations did not permit us to give 
you a present; but now that you have given 
up command of the ship, you are only a gen- 
tleman." 

In 1898 a magnificent sword costing $4,200 
was presented to Admiral Schley at Philadel- 
phia, a gift from that city and other munici- 
palities of Pennsylvania, New Jersey and 
Delaware. A few months later, in 1899, at 
Carnegie Hall, New York, the Admiral was 
presented with a sword by the Royal Arcanum, 
of which he is a commander. The sword cost 
$2,000, and bears on one side of the blade the 
inscription, "Presented to Rear-Admiral Win- 
field Scott Schley by the Royal Arcanum of 
the United States, in Admiration of his Vic- 
tory over the Spanish at Santiago, July 3d, 
1898," while on the reverse of the blade is 
etched a scene of the battle. 



AND SANTIAGO 53 

Baltimore has generously honored her son 
by several rich souvenirs of his gallant achieve- 
ments. After his return from the Greeley 
rescuing expedition, Admiral Schley was pre- 
sented with a magnificent gold chronometer 
and chain, the latter being in the design of 
a ship's hawser, with connecting anchors. 
Again, in the summer of 1899, at the home of 
General Felix Agnus, Rear-Admiral Schley 
was presented with a silver tea service from 
the Ladies' Auxiliary of the Schley Testi- 
monial Committee. 

At a banquet held in Schley's honor in Balti- 
more, Tuesday, February 28, 1899, the state of 
Maryland, through its legislature, presented to 
the Admiral a superb commemorative medal. 
Two inches in diameter, the center is a heavy 
gold plate, bearing an exact reproduction, in 
colored enamels, of the Maryland coat-of-arms, 
even the ermine mantle being shown in detail. 
Separated from the plate by a narrow gold 
band, is a circle of large diamonds, and encir- 
cling the whole a wreath of acorn leaves in 
green gold, interspersed with the tiny nuts 
of shining gold. At equidistant points the 
wreath is crossed and held by narrow ribbon 



SCHLET 54 

bands of small diamonds. The medal is held 
by a twisted ribbon of blue enamel, the edge 
of which is set with one hundred and forty dia- 
monds, and which bears the inscription, "Mary- 
land honors her son, Winfield Scott Schley." 
Entwined with the ribbon is an anchor of 
diamonds, and two crossed swords, their hilts 
being studded with the gems. The whole is 
suspended from the base of the United States 
coat-of-arms, surmounted by an eagle, which 
is mounted on a blue ribbon, bearing the two 
golden stars of a rear-admiral. On the reverse 
side, directly opposite the Maryland coat-of- 
arms, is the cruiser Brooklyn, in bas-relief of 
gold. 

The official record of Winfield Scott Schley 
is as follows: Appointed a cadet at the U. S. 
Naval Academy at Annapolis, September 20, 
1856; graduated and warranted a midshipman, 
June 15, i860; lieutenant, July 16, 1862; 
lieutenant-commander, July 25, 1866; com- 
mander, June 10, 1874; captain, March 31, 
1888; commodore, February 6, 1898; rear- 
admiral, March 3, 1899; retired, October 9, 
1901. 



AND SANTIAGO 55 



PREPARATION. Ill 

ON THE 29th and 30th of March, 
the nucleus of the Flying Squad- 
ron remained at Newport News, coaling and 
otherwise preparing for any emergency which 
might arise. The presence of Commodore 
Schley aboard did not disturb any of the 
routine; but on the 31st, under his orders, the 
squadron moved to a point just off Fortress 
Monroe, where a better view of the harbor 
could be obtained in case hostile vessels of any 
kind should enter. It was also considered a bet- 
ter anchorage for his fleet which, naturally, was 
to be enlarged. That day, indeed, the fast 
cruiser Columbia joined the squadron. 

There was every indication that the ships 
would remain there at least until after war had 
been declared, a thing which did not seem to 
be probable for some few weeks, and so most of 
the officers sent for their wives and families, 
and domiciled them at the nearby hotels. 



SCHLET 56 

Despite the fact that this opened up a clear 
line of social duty and made of Old Point 
Comfort a sort of naval society rendezvous, 
the Squadron, under the command of Commo- 
dore Schley, became exceedingly active in per- 
fecting arrangements for meeting an enemy. 

A systematic method of coaling and provi- 
sioning W2lS arranged so that each day's provi- 
sions used and each day's coal consumed would 
be replaced the same day, in the event that if 
war was declared and a hurried summons was 
received to proceed to sea, the fleet would be 
in almost perfect condition. 

Nor was this all. Commodore Schley had no 
sooner taken command than he issued a series 
of orders for sub-calibre gun practice, promising 
that as soon as perfect results were obtained 
by these methods, he would allow the using of 
large ammunition to test the ability of the 
gunners at long ranges. So every morning for 
the weeks that we laid there, there could be 
heard the popping of these sub-calibre car- 
tridges and the proficiency of the men was 
shown by the rapid destruction of linen targets 
placed at ranges varying from 1,000 to 1,500 
yards from the vessels. Sub-calibre practice 



AND SANTIAGO S7 

consists in putting into a disk which fits in the 
breech of the large guns, a forty-four-calibre 
rifle cartridge and firing it in the same manner 
as a large projectile would be fired, but of 
course with a limitation of range. 

There was a distinct rivalry among the ships 
over this kind of shooting, which was very 
refreshing and undoubtedly very helpful to the 
esprit de corps. During the afternoons the 
men were not allowed to rest either, but gun 
captains and ammunition captains trained 
their men in the careful handling of the large 
projectiles, cartridges and explosives. The 
flagship would suddenly signal also, at various 
times, not only of the day but of the night, for 
fire drills, for a torpedo attack, and to clear 
ship for action, and it was exciting indeed to 
see the alacrity with which the men accom- 
plished these various manoeuvres, one ship 
vieing with the other in ability to raise quickly 
the pennant announcing that the order had 
been thoroughly obeyed. 

I have told a trifle in detail of these drills 
and the activity displayed upon the ships 
under Commodore Schley to dispel the some- 
what erroneous impression that has been given 



SCHLET 58 

at times that the waiting period of the Flying 
Squadron at Hampton Roads was a mere social 
frolic, in which officers and men alike took 
part. It is true that the officers who were not 
employed on watch or division duty had shore 
leave in the evening, but even then I have seen 
orderlies, in the middle of the festivities, rush 
into the ball-rooms or drawing-rooms of the 
hotels, notifying all officers to appear aboard 
at once, and amid great excitement a few min- 
utes would suffice to find everybody back 
aboard ship. These calls were made for the 
special purpose of seeing how quickly ships 
could be gotten ready for any specific duty. 

On April the 2d, the Minneapolis, another 
fast cruiser, joined us, and with the exception 
of the Texas we now had a very fast squadron. 
During the days that we waited there for the 
declaration of war to be made upon the finish- 
ing of the report of the Board of Inquiry in 
the Maine matter, then sitting at Havana, the 
extra precautions as detailed, in addition to 
the regular routine of the ships, were followed 
out daily, even in wet and stormy weather. 
Some of the things, of course, which took 
place during that period might to outsiders 



AND SANTIAGO 59 

have had a humorous aspect, but to us it was 
all exceedingly serious work. 

I remember a crowd of us were sitting in the 
hotel at Old Point Comfort one evening, when 
a messenger rushed in, calling for officers 
belonging to the Columbia. The officers, 
amidst great excitement, started for the dock 
where their launches lay. A rumor at once 
arose that the Spanish fleet had been sighted 
off the New England coast, and that the 
Columbia was to go and find them, and, if 
possible, intercept them. The absolute ridic- 
ulousness of such a situation never quite 
dawned upon anyone just then, because tearful 
women and children were bidding husbands 
and fathers good-bye. But, when the Colum- 
bia had steamed down the bay, we who were 
left behind began to realize that while she 
might have been needed for some scout work, 
she would hardly have proceeded alone to 
destroy the Spanish fleet. It was true that the 
New Englanders, somewhat alarmed, had dis- 
covered numerous "Spanish fleets" hovering in 
their vicinity, and the Navy Department had 
sent to them to allay their alarm the unpro- 
tected cruiser Columbia. Her principal feat 



SCHLET 60 

during that cruise was to stove a hole in her 
bow and get laid up for repairs. 

On April the 5th some little excitement was 
created by the Brooklyn firing her large eight- 
inch guns from her forward turret. These 
guns had been remounted and the trial was 
made for the purpose of testing the mounts, 
but the rumor gained credence ashore that the 
Spanish fleet had passed inside the Capes and 
was coming up to destroy Fortress Monroe. A 
similar rumor a few nights later created still 
greater consternation. There was a dance at 
the hotel, it being Saturday night, and the 
Army people from Fortress Monroe and 
the Navy contingent from the fleet were fra- 
ternizing in the big ball-room. Suddenly faces 
blanched, for as messengers passed about the 
hall, there was a hurried rush of Naval officers 
to their small boats and Army officers to the 
Fort. The women trailed on dismally behind 
in fear and trepidation. Word had come from 
the observer at the Capes that three suspi- 
cious vessels had passed inside, and they were 
believed to be Spaniards. On the ships active 
preparations were at once begun to receive an 
enemy and the picket boats, launches from the 



AND SANTIAGO 6i 

ships, were ordered to move further down the 
Narrows so that they might be able to give 
warning by colored lights if an enemy was 
sighted. To cap the climax, the electric com- 
pany deemed it its duty to extinguish all the 
lights ashore, being afraid that the enemy 
would otherwise be aided in their bombard- 
ment, and the results were that the hotels were 
filled with weeping, hysterical women, and 
grave, white-faced men, who expected every 
instant to hear a shell come pounding through 
the big corridors. 

A trifle later the observer at the Capes noti- 
fied the operator at the Fort that he had been 
in error, but confidence had been destroyed, 
and nothing could induce those in the hotels to 
resume the festivities that night. 

When Commodore Schley, aboard the 
Brooklyn, was informed by Captain Cook why 
the ship had gone to quarters, he laughed 
very heartily and asked if anybody could 
explain to him where this mythical fleet was 
supposed to have come from. 

The mere statement which I have made in 
the former part of this chapter that the ships 
were kept fully supplied with coal and provi- 



SCHLET 62 

sions will not impress itself upon the layman's 
mind as meaning very much unless they know 
just exactly what the keeping of one ship like 
the Brooklyn amounts to, taken in conjunction 
with the fact that there were already four of 
similar size in this squadron, with the pros- 
pect of two or three more being added. From 
the assistant paymaster of the Brooklyn I 
obtained the list of purchases necessary in one 
month to sustain the crew, consisting as the 
Brooklyn's crew did of 427 men, 20 chief petty 
officers, and 33 other officers. 

In cash alone there is paid to these men 
$20,000. There is used aboard generally in 
that month from the general stores 2,000 
pounds of soap, 500 pounds of tobacco, 300 
yards of flannel, 150 yards of cloth, 100 cap 
ribbons, an average of 50 suits of underwear, 
50 pairs of shoes, 25 pairs of trousers, 25 over- 
shirts, besides whisk brooms, scrub brushes, 
shoe brushes, tape, pins, needles, cotton 
thread, knives, scissors, spoons and forks. 

And then come the provisions. This crew 
in one month consumed 6,000 i)ounds of bread, 
35 pounds of yeast, 3,000 pounds of sugar, 300 
pints of condensed milk, 900 pounds of coffee. 



AND SANTIAGO 63 

100 pounds of tea, 1,000 pounds of butter, 200 
pounds of lard, 8,000 pounds of fresh beef, 
2,000 pounds of fresh fish, 1,800 pounds of salt 
pork, 1,200 pounds of salt beef, 800 pounds of 
liver, 900 pounds of ham, 480 pounds of bacon, 
900 pounds of pork chops, 300 pounds of 
sausages, 400 pounds of salt mackerel, 500 pigs' 
feet, 800 pounds of tinned meats, 240 pounds 
of bologna, 240 pounds of cheese, 800 pounds 
of rice, 300 pounds of macaroni, 300 gallons 
of beans, 400 bushels of potatoes, 12 bushels of 
onions, 20 bushels of turnips, 600 heads of cab- 
bage, 120 quarts of clams, 480 quarts of 
catsup, 12 pints of flavors, 100 pounds of dried 
fruit, 300 pounds of salt, 30 pounds of pepper, 
24 pounds of curry powder, 300 pounds of 
pickles, 30 gallons of vinegar, 30 gallons of 
syrup, and to make one omelette for the im- 
mense crew for one morning's breakfast, 1,500 
eggs. 

The four ships in the squadron, in order to 
keep up steam, burned, even in their inactivity, 
about 300 tons of coal a day, and this was 
replaced each morning so as to keep the 
bunkers full, in case of a sudden call. 

Between April 7th and April 13th, very 



SCHLET 64 

little of any moment occurred on the fleet 
except the redoubling of the efforts to make 
everything more efficient. About noon on April 
13th, there was a general scurrying from shore, 
as an order was raised at the mastheads of the 
ships for everybody to report at once aboard. 
About the same time Admiral Schley went 
ashore himself and affectionately kissed his 
wife good-bye, giving a hint to the other offi- 
cers that they were going to sea. 

At 2:50 in the afternoon the first active 
movement of the squadron was made. A string 
of parti-colored flags went up to the masthead 
of the Brooklyn, reading to the initiated, 
"Squadron will proceed to sea," followed by 
another one giving the squadron's speed at 
ten knots. The alacrity with which anchors 
were pulled up and the squadron headed out 
was remarkable, except in the case of the Min- 
neapolis, which ship had swung so much to her 
anchor that she had fouled it, and had to be 
left by the rest of the squadron, being ordered 
by the flagship to join us later off Cape 
Charles. 

The squadron moved down Hampton Roads 
and out to sea in majestic procession, and 







§^ 



^ 



2 "^ 

o '^ 



AND SANTIAGO 65 

when nearing the Capes, cleared for action. 
The men aboard, who knew nothing whatever 
of the destination of the ships or the meaning of 
the order, were apparently crazy with delight 
and the three ships reported themselves ready 
to fire almost simultaneously. 

It was rough weather outside of the Capes, 
but as dusk approached the fleet anchored 
about fifteen miles off Cape Charles, while the 
disappointed sailors who had expected a fight 
restored the ships to normal condition. 

We remained there for the night, the Minne- 
apolis joining us later on, and relays of men 
under order of Commodore Schley sleeping at 
the guns, which were kept loaded as if pre- 
pared for an attack. The next day the heavy 
weather continued, but at nine o'clock anchors 
were raised, and the squadron began evolu- 
tions for battle, following the flagship's 
orders. This was continued with much success 
until a fierce hail and wind storm compelled 
a cessation. Anchors were dropped fourteen 
miles east of Cape Charles and we lay there 
for another night. 

The morning of the 1 5th the order was raised 
from the flagship for a gun drill with large 



SCHLET 66 

projectiles, and for the first time the ships 
demonstrated how they would look when actu- 
ally engaged with an enemy. The piercing 
crack of the six-pounders and one-pounders, the 
long, reverberating roll of the thirteen-inch 
guns of the Massachusetts, the twelve-inch of 
the Texas, and the eight-inch ones on the 
Brooklyn, the half naked men working at the 
guns with a will, the blinding flashes from the 
mouths of the great steel monsters, and the 
dense rolls of smoke as the guns were dis- 
charged, all made a beautiful naval picture 
that morning. 

In the afternoon, much to the disgust of 
both officers and men, the squadron ran back 
to Hampton Roads, and once more anchored 
off Old Point Comfort to await anxiously the 
doings of Congress. 

Curiously enough, the naval officers' families 
who had been at the hotels had become firmly 
convinced that the squadron had departed for 
good, and had themselves left for their homes, 
so that our little social recreation which had 
somewhat broken the monotony was not con- 
tinued. 

From April 15th to April 25th, the fleet lay 



AND SANTIAGO 67 

at Hampton Roads in a state of distressing 
inactivity, so far as the movement of the ships 
was concerned. The routine went on, but 
the men were so perfect in discipline and drill 
and the handling of the great turrets and the 
big guns, that it had become merely a matter 
of keeping themselves in practice. On the 
19th we received word that war had been 
declared, and between that time and the 25th 
this increased our impatience very perceptibly. 
Commodore Schley firmly believed that he 
should take a position off the south coast of 
Cuba or the north coast of Porto Rico to inter- 
cept, if possible, any movement of Admiral 
Cervera's Spanish squadron, which was then 
announced as being assembled at the Verde 
Islands. It is a fact to be noted here that had 
his advice been taken and the Flying Squadron 
sent to the south coast of Cuba the probabil- 
ities are that he would have intercepted Cervera 
off that coast, or in the event of Cervera refus- 
ing to accept the challenge and choosing Porto 
Rico, that the Spanish would have fallen into 
the clutches of Admiral Sampson. 

I have walked up and down with Commodore 
Schley along the quarter-deck, on several occa- 



SCHLET 68 

sions, as he talked in an impatient, and almost 
nervous way of the things that he might accom- 
plish if he were allowed to go to sea with 
his present fleet. The Minneapolis had been 
detached from the squadron and had gone 
scouting, but had been replaced by the newly 
purchased New Orleans with her beautiful long 
calibre guns, and the converted yacht Scorpion, 
under command of Lieutenant-Commander 
Marix, who was navigating officer of the Maine 
and judge advocate of the board which investi- 
gated the explosion. 

The most exciting episode of our stay at 
Hampton Roads was the narrow escape from 
great damage of the Brooklyn on the morning 
of the 25th of April. A heavy nor'wester, which 
had been blowing for two days, resolved itself 
on the morning of the 25th into a furious 
gale, so bad indeed that communication with 
the shore was entirely cut off, it being impossi- 
ble to send either a launch or a heavy whale- 
boat across what appeared to be a ridiculously 
small strip of water, but which was now 
whipped up into monstrous seas. 

Tlic Brooklyn's anchorage was furthest down 
the bay and about 700 yards from the Massa- 



AND SANTIAGO 69 

chusetts, which lay in very close to the rip- 
raps, an old island fortification there. The 
Texas was about 500 yards astern of the Mas- 
sachusetts, and the New Orleans very close to 
her, so that with a vessel of heavy draught it 
was almost impossible to go up the channel. 
Suddenly the anchor which held the Brooklyn 
failed to stay her, and with the wind blowing 
against her exceedingly high superstructure 
with such force that it was unsafe to stand in 
an exposed position, she began to drift, slowly 
at first but increasing her momentum every 
second. The officer of the deck noticed her 
change of position, and saw at once that she 
was dragging her anchor. Captain Cook 
summoned, came on deck, and ordered the 
second anchor dropped. Down it went over 
the bow, and for a minute or tv/o it held. Sud- 
denly it too gave, and faster than ever the 
Brooklyn began to drive down toward the 
Massachusetts. To go ahead against the two 
anchors was impossible without fouling our- 
selves, or without swinging around so as to 
strike the Texas. Faster and faster she drifted 
down upon the Massachusetts, as straight 
almost as though she had been intending to 



SCHLET 70 

impale herself on the heavy warship's ram. 
Commodore Schley had come from his cabin, 
and he and Captain Cook stood on the star- 
board eight-inch turret, coolly gazing over the 
side. Personally I was simply dancing with ex- 
citement, as were a great many officers and men 
near me. "Are they going to let her collide 
with the Massachusetts? Why do they not do 
something.?" As fast as if steam propelled, 
she was covering the narrow line of blue water 
between her and the Massachusetts. The battle- 
ship could not move. If she backed away she 
would run ashore. And so they waited, Schley 
and Cook standing on the starboard turret of 
the Brooklyn, and Higginson standing on his 
forward thirteen-inch turret watching for the 
collision which seemed inevitable. 

Now we were down on top of her and from 
the high superstructure of the Brooklyn we 
could look into the eyes of the men of the 
Massachusetts. Lieutenant-Commander Ma- 
son had ordered the collision call; the water- 
tight compartments had been closed; the col- 
lision mats prepared, and in an instant we all 
expected that the Brooklyn would be put out 
of commission for the rest of the war. We 



AND SANTIAGO 71 

were within fifteen feet of the terrible steel ram 
of the Massachusetts, when Schley said some- 
thing quietly to Cook, and Cook roared 
through the megaphone to the waiting officer on 
the bridge, "Full speed astern with your star- 
board engine. ' ' In an instant we could hear the 
whirl of the propeller, and in another instant 
we could see the Brooklyn turn from the ram; 
then, in a silence broken only by the whirr of 
the propeller, we saw her slide away from the 
Massachusetts' steel beak and simply touch 
her armor belt against the heavy steel sides 
of the big warship. There was a crashing 
and smashing of metal as our overhanging 
eight-inch turret scraped away ^the catamaran, 
one of the heavy whale-boats, and four of the 
big steel davits of the Massachusetts, and then, 
as we slid gracefully away from her with only 
that damage done and the ship saved, there 
rose a roar of approval from both the men of 
the Brooklyn and those of the Massachusetts. 
Quick wit and coolness had prevented a great 
national calamity, for calamity it would have 
been had the Brooklyn been disabled for the 
remainder of the war, as she would have had 
she struck the Massachusetts' ram. 



SCHLET 72 



OFF TO SEA. IV. 

ON MAY the 13th after having previously 
had word of the magnificent victory 
of Admiral Dewey at Manila, the Flying 
Squadron received orders to proceed to sea. 
It was about 1:30 in the afternoon when the 
orders reached us and at four o'clock, 
with hardly a flurry and as if a common duty 
were being performed, anchors had been raised 
and cleared, and the fleet moved down Hamp- 
ton Roads and out to sea, a majestic procession 
of beautiful, formidable ships, whose future 
no one ashore who watched them move out or 
no one aboard them could determine. The 
New Orleans, which was detached from the 
squadron, was ordered to stay behind for the 
purpose of guarding the harbor, and the ships 
which followed the flag on the Brooklyn that 
day were the Texas, the Massachusetts, the 
Scorpion, the collier Merrimac destined after- 




Copyright, 1902, by VV. B. Conkey Company. 

^^T/iey lull I never go home" 
(vii) 



ly 



L\ 



AND SANTIAGO 73 

ward to become famous, and one other smaller 
collier. 

Never were ships of any navy in the world 
better prepared for active warfare, both as to 
their machinery, guns, ammunition, and esprit 
de coj'ps than were these. The great guns in 
the turrets were loaded and ready for action in 
case an enemy was suddenly sighted. The 
ships had been stripped of all their beautiful 
furniture, handsome woodwork, and every- 
thing ornamental or decorative that could 
possibly be spared, the only exception being the 
junior officers' piano, which they had managed 
to keep aboard. This piano, combined with 
the mandolin and guitar club formed by the 
ward room waiter boys, were our only sources 
of musical pleasure during the cruise, for we 
had no band aboard. 

But though we had lost our handsome furni- 
ture and all the decorative features that go to 
make a ship like the Brooklyn somewhat hab- 
itable, we had not forgotten our mascots. The 
marines had a pretty little fox terrier, which 
they claimed as their special good luck indica- 
tor, but naturally the marines' pet was not a 
particular favorite with the seamen. The 



SCHLET 74 

sailors had "Old Billy," a very intelligent and 
deserving goat, who never failed to take 
advantage of an enemy when his back was 
turned or to revenge himself in quiet by chew- 
ing up some annoying sailor's hammock. He 
was a much petted, though sometimes abused, 
goat. He wore a beautiful silver collar 
adorned with inscriptions of the many fracases 
he had been in and containing also a record of 
his cruises. He wore a coat when on inspec- 
tion, of such varied colors as would undoubt- 
edly have put Joseph's coat of many colors to 
shame, and he had full swing of the ship, 
going where any enlisted man could go if 
he so pleased. It may be said at this point 
that the success of the Brooklyn during the 
campaign was in some great measure due 
undoubtedly to Billy's presence aboard. 

The orders under which, we sailed from 
Hampton Roads were sealed ones. They were 
not opened until after we had rounded the 
cape and reached the open sea. It was then 
found that we were to proceed south to a point 
off the harbor of Charleston, where we would 
be communicated with by the Department for 
future instructions 



AND SANTIAGO js 

As night came on, the fleet under orders 
made every preparation for meeting an enemy. 
Lights were doused, or in case of absolute 
necessity, were masked, as soon as darkness 
came, and even the guide Hght in the stern of 
each ship, used to keep her fellow behind from 
running up on her, was enclosed so it could 
only be seen by a ship directly astern. And 
with the guns loaded, the ships partially 
cleared for action, only the side ropes being 
up, and with the gun crews asleep at the breech 
of their guns, the fleet proceeded southward. 

Eighty miles east and twenty miles south of 
Hatteras we had our first excitement. Just at 
dusk a steamer was sighted, and when, follow- 
ing a call to quarters and preparation for a fight, 
it was found she was a merchantman, the Scor- 
pion was sent to intercept her. She proved to 
be the British steamer Elsie, bound to Norfolk 
with fertilizing rock, and the men sniffed con- 
temptuously when they heard that she was not 
a prize. 

The following mornmg, Sunday, May 15th, 
we stopped off Charleston harbor and prepared 
to send the Scorpion in for dispatches, but just 
as we were going aboard of her, hoping to 



SCHLET 76 

have a nice little excursion up to the city, the 
lighthouse signaled that she had the dispatches 
for us and would send them off by boat. The 
orders were obtained and found to be direc- 
tions for us to proceed to Key West, where the 
Navy Department would further communicate 
v/ith us. Monday, the i6th, was passed at sea 
with only one eventful incident happening, 
but one which went to demonstrate the perfect 
discipline aboard even when terrible danger 
threatened, and elucidate at the same time the 
fact that grave danger lurks at all times on a 
battleship and that the greatest precaution has 
to be momentarily exercised. 

It was about eleven o'clock on the night of 
the 1 6th, when only the watch on deck were 
active and when others in the ship were 
wrapped in slumber, that the bells began to 
clang violently. These bells are used for 
emergency calls, such as fire, collision or battle. 
Jumping from our berths in a half dazed con- 
dition, as we waked suddenly from sound 
sleep, we grasped our revolvers and cartridge 
belts, and sticking our feet in our slippers, 
without waiting to don clothes rushed up on 
deck. Everything was intense blackness, for 



AND SANTIAGO jj 

the lights had not been turned on, no orders to 
that effect having been given. I had been told 
that I could go to the bridge in such an 
emergency, and immediately made my way 
to it. Commodore Schley, Captain Cook 
and Lieutenant-Commander Mason were 
there. None of them had given the alarm, 
and the officer of the deck said that he had not 
sent in the alarm, either for a torpedo boat, or 
the enemy's fleet. "Then one of the maga- 
zines must be overheated," said Mr. Mason, in 
as orderly a tone as though he were saying 
that breakfast would be served the next morn- 
ing. And off he rushed to look after the thing, 
while we stood on that bridge for four or five 
minutes, clad only in our pajamas, slippers 
and war accoutrements, trying to pierce the 
tense blackness, and expecting to feel the 
bottom of the ship go out. 

In a short time Mr, Mason reported to Cap- 
tain Cook that a magazine next to a coal 
bunker had become overheated because of the 
fact that the coal in the bunker was on fire, 
and that the automatic alarm had gone off. 
"Have you flooded the magazine.-*" asked Cap- 
tain Cook. "No, I have not," replied Mason. 



V 



SCHLET 78 

"The men are taking the ammunition out so 
as to save it, and I have turned steam on in the 
bunker to extinguish the fire." 

And then I went below and saw a lot of 
sailors, working under a single electric light, 
removing from a hot magazine which might 
possibly have exploded at any moment, masses 
of ammunition that were already warm to the 
touch. 

We steamed quietly into the harbor at Key 
West, and dropped our anchors at midnight. 
And the next morning when the hundreds of 
newspaper men, hungry for information, 
looked from their hotel windows towards the 
bay, they saw the tall stacks and high military 
masts of the Brooklyn, and knew that the Fly- 
ing Squadron and its commander had arrived. 

At ten o'clock that morning Commodore 
Schley transferred his flag to the Scorpion 
and went up to Key West where he reported 
to Commodore Remy for further orders from 
the Department. Captain Sampson, who had 
been ordered to raise his flag as a Rear-Admiral 
on the New York and who was in charge of 
the North Atlantic squadron, being absent on 
the Porto Rico expedition which proved so 



AND SANTIAGO 



79 



abortive, there was a hearty greeting between 
the two Commodores while a fringe of news- 
paper men hovered around seeking for infor- 
mation which, even if they got, they found it ■ 
pretty hard work to transmit to the United 
States. 

Telegraphic communications ensued between 
the Navy Department and Commodores Remy 
and Schley, and finally the latter was ordered 
to take his squadron and relieve the "mos- 
quito fleet" before Havana. He returned to 
the Brooklyn, issued his orders to go to sea, 
and was making active preparations when the 
New York was sighted coming in beyond Dry 
Tortugas. Sampson had left his fleet, the war 
vessels of which were ruining their engines in 
dragging heavy monitors, and made a hurried 
run in to Key West in order to meet with and 
consult Schley. A long conference ensued on 
board the New York, and when Commodore 
Schley returned to his flagship he stated with 
a show of much gratification and much to our 
own pleasure, that we were going around the 
south side of Cuba to, if possible, find the 
Spanish fleet. He said that he and Admiral 
Sampson had discussed the possibility of a 



SCHLET 80 

haven of refuge for the Spanish fleet on the 
southern coast and that they had both come to 
the conclusion that the harbor of Cienfuegos 
was the only practical place for him to go to, 
for it was the only southern port that had 
direct railroad communication with Havana, 
and it was highly probable that the fleet 
brought with them, according to our best 
information, arms and ammunition for the 
defense of Havana. 

Captain Cook was present while Schley told 
this, as was also Lieutenant Sears, and he fur- 
thermore dwelt upon the point that Admiral 
Sampson had called his attention to the fact 
that he, Sampson, had confidential instructions 
from the secretary of the navy not to expose 
the ships to the fire of shore batteries until the 
calibre and the number of their guns were 
absolutely and definitely determined. 

The Commodore made particular allusion to 
the pleasantness of his conversation with Ad- 
miral Sampson and the fact that they had 
entirely agreed upon all subjects. He spoke 
to me particularly about this as a newspaper 
man, because there had been frequent rumors 
some of them printed in the press of the coun 







^ 



S 



AND SANTIAGO 8i 

try, that because of the promotion of Captain 
Sampson over the heads of Schley and several 
other ranking officers there would be a friction 
which could not be overcome. He told me 
in confidence that night that he had told 
Admiral Sampson that he would give him his 
very heartiest and sincerest support, and he 
ended by saying in relation to the statements 
in the newspapers, "It is all absolutely ridicu- 
lous. We are all engaged in the same object, 
and we will all work together with a will." 

When the news spread around the ships that 
night that we were to go to sea early the next 
morning and try and find the elusive fleet of 
Cervera, of which the government had no 
knowledge since its departure from the Verde 
Islands, there was great jubilation. I know in 
the ward room of the Brooklyn we celebrated 
in a mild, liquid way, and swore as to what 
we would do when we caught the Spanish fleet 
at sea. Later in the evening Commodore 
Schley discussed with Captain Cook, in whom 
he grealty confided and whose judgment he 
accepted in many ways, his plans for the cam- 
paign. He was to take with him the Brook- 
lyn, the Texas, the Massachusetts, the Scor- 



SCHLET 82 

pion, and the two colliers, and one feature of 
his plan is worth explanation because he has 
been criticised for consuming too much time 
in proceeding from Key West to Cienfuegos. 

It was perfectly agreed in the cabin of the 
Brooklyn that night that the rendezvous should 
be Cienfuegos, and this was signaled to the 
remainder of the fleet. It was also agreed that 
the fleet should take a long detour to the south 
to reach Cienfuegos, so as to keep out of sight 
of the land that no indications of the destina- 
tion of the fleet might be given to the hostile 
Spaniards in Cuba. 

The fleet as made up was hardly supposed 
to be capable of demolishing a Spanish squad- 
ron consisting of four battleships and two tor- 
pedo boats, although Commodore Schley never 
for a moment believed otherwise than that if 
he met them he could give them a pretty warm 
fight. It was agreed between Schley and 
Sampson that the Iowa, the Marblchead, and 
the Nashville would join us after they had 
repaired and coaled, a matter perhaps of 
twelve or twenty-four hours, and as there was 
no indication that the Spanish fleet was any- 
where in the vicinity, it was easily probable 



AND SANTIAGO 83 

that the entire fleet would rendezvous at Cien- 
fuegos before the Spanish fleet arrived off the 
south coast. 

Thursday morning at eight o'clock, before 
the newspaper tugs had quite waked up, the 
Flying Squadron steamed out of the harbor of 
Key West toward the western end of Cuba on 
the hunt for Cervera's fleet. One solitary little 
tug boat, in aggressive red, and with the New 
York Journal flag flying from her flag-staff, 
began an heroic chase after us, and for four or 
five hours afforded us a great deal of amuse- 
ment in her endeavors to make an eight-knot- 
an-hour boat keep up with a twelve-knot 
squadron. She struggled away at it heroically, 
however, until past noon, when she saw the 
hopelessness of her task, and when she was 
just about hull down we saw her turn around 
and make back toward Key West. 

At 9:30 in the morning we had passed the 
Marblehead, in command of Commander Mc- 
Calla, together with the converted yacht 
Eagle. They had been on the Cienfuegos 
blockade for several days, and Commander 
McCalla raised a signal as he approached us 
asking permission to proceed. The Commo- 



SCHLET 84 

dore signaled to the Scorpion to go over and 
see if they had any messages, and the Eagle 
approached to communicate with her. After 
a brief megaphone conversation, the Scorpion 
returned and repeated it by megaphone to us. 
Her officers said that Commander McCalla re- 
ported that he had broken the blockade at Cien- 
fuegos; that the Nashville, Cincinnati, and 
Vesuvius were somewhere behind him, and that 
there was no news of the Spanish fleet. 

And here is where one of the serious blun- 
ders of the war wa^ made. If McCalla had 
stopped long enough to have had direct com- 
munication with Commodore Schley, he would 
have undoubtedly delivered the message he 
should have delivered, detailing the fact that 
there was a code of communication established 
with the Cubans of Cienfuegos, whereby infor- 
mation as to what was transpiring in the city 
and harbor could be immediately obtained. 

We proceeded that night in battle order, 
and the morning of the 20th found us some 
way on our journey. Early that morning we 
had a peculiar accident whicli came very 
nearly being an extremely serious one for the 
Brooklyn, had it not been for the coolness of 



AND SANTIAGO 85 

the after eight-inch turret crew and of Lieuten- 
ant William E. Rush, who was in command of 
it. The after turret is turned by electricity, 
and the guns are also fired by the same force. 
The feed wire runs up in that part of the arc 
of the circle through which the turret does not 
turn. The turret was turned around too far 
and cut the wires, and in an instant, the wires, 
emitting a shower of sparks, were down on the 
floor of the turret amidst the great eight-inch 
powder bags. It was an intensely exciting and 
interesting moment; but Lieutenant Rush, 
seeing instantly the awful gravity of the situa- 
tion, called to the men in as cool a voice as 
if he were ordering them to clean a gun, 
"Boys, pick those wires up." The men imme- 
diately obeyed the order, and picked up the 
four or five wires leading from the feed cable, 
holding them until the electrician came and 
patched them up. 



SCHLET 86 



CLEAR FOR ACTION. V. 

" CMOKE, sir, on the horizon." 
v3 "Where away?" 

"Two points on the starboard bow." 

It was the lookout in the upper top of the 
big United States cruiser, calling to the officer 
on the bridge. Lieutenant Doyle, watch offi- 
cer of the day, snapped out the tubes of the 
long telescope and swept the horizon. 

"Three columns of smoke, by hookey!" he 
exclaimed, as he excitedly jammed the brass 
tubes together again, and turning quickly to 
one of the two messengers, said sharply, "Mes- 
senger, report to Mr. Mason and Captain 
Cook that two or more steamers' smoke can 
be seen." 

Before the messenger jumps down from the 
high bridge of the Brooklyn, the ship astern 
has sent up a fluttering signal, "Suspicious 
smoke to the south," and while Mr. Doyle is 



AND SANTIAGO 87 

calling to the signal officer of the bridge to 
answer it, Captain Cook and Lieutenant- 
Commander Mason have come there accom- 
panied by a tall, slender man, full of nervous 
energy, and who wears a simple white linen 
suit, bearing no insignia of rank. 

All three of them use their binoculars, but 
as yet only the clearly-defined columns of 
smoke are visible. 

"There are four columns now, sir," said 
Lieutenant Doyle, and the slender man, with 
the iron-gray hair and moustaches, and the 
little grizzled Parisian imperial which his fingers 
nervously stroked as he intently gazed at the 
wavering clouds of smoke, suddenly replied, 
"Yes, and there's a mast, McConnell. What 
do you make of it.-'" 

McConnell, the reliable boatswain, held the 
big sea-glass in a steady hand, and looked 
long, earnestly; still once again he studied 
the suspects before replying with a note, 
almost of triumph, in his voice, "A warship, 
sir, by her rig. ' ' 

Still, but for the little, tense, excited group 
on the bridge, all was as usual. The big screws 
were thumping the water with monotonous and 



SCHLET 88 

slow regularity. The men on the forward 
deck were lounging about, playing cribbage, 
sewing, or rummaging through their diddy 
boxes, and a very few had arisen and were taking 
some interest in the smoke clouds, which had 
now become visible to the naked eye. In the 
ward room the officers off duty were smoking and 
chatting, while from the junior officers' mess 
came the banging chords of a piano, and the 
lusty voices of the 'Voungsters" trolling out 
capstan-turning roundelays, interrupted now 
and then by a shout of laughter. 

Still like four statues on the bridge stood 
the four officers, glasses to eyes, while the long 
telescope of the quartermaster was pointed at 
the gray smoke curling along the horizon. 

"Keep her toward them," said the Commo- 
dore, for the gray-haired man was Schley, to 
Captain Cook, and the wheel went to port a 
few turns. 

"It's a warship, sir," interrupted McCon- 
nell, "but I can't make out her colors." 

"Goto quarters, " directed the Commodore 
to Captain Cook, and then picking up the 
megaphone, he called, "After bridge, there! 
Signal the fleet general quarters." 



AND SANTIAGO 89 

"Call the musicians," said Mr. Mason 
sharply, to the messenger, and the musicians 
came. Still the big floating arsenal and its 
hundreds of inmates were quiet, still the offi- 
cers in the ward room chatted and smoked, 
while others had gone to their cabins for a 
nap, for this idle floating and watching for an 
enemy's fleet under the burning sun of a trop- 
ical sky was conducive to inertia. Inertia, yes, 
while all was at peace, but a moment later 
witnessed a transformation that spoke volumes 
for the training and make-up of Uncle Sam's 
fighting men. 

"Sound the call to general quarters,' com- 
manded Mr. Mason, and through the ship and 
out over the blue waters rolled a nerve-thrill- 
ing diapason of the drums, punctured and 
accentuated by the trumpet's shrill treble. 

And as though vivified by an electric shock, 
the immense ship woke to life and action, and 
seemed to thrill with vitality and force. From 
the quarters poured forth men, dressing them- 
selves as they came, never stopping for shoes 
or stockings; jackies wearing but loose trous- 
ers and no shirt; officers in old, comfortable 
linen coats and trousers, or in one or two 



SCHLET 90 

instances, gorgeously-colored pajamas in 
which they had tumbled from their berths at 
the first sound of alarm, and buckling on their 
side arms as they ran to their posts. 

And so, like the rats following the whistle of 
the Pied Piper of Hamlin, the men came scur- 
rying from every direction, while the siren 
shrieked forth its weird steam blast, the big 
gongs clanged, and the drums rolled, and, 
before the echo of the clamor had died away, 
every part of the ship, from the depths of the 
hold to the top of the high military mast, was 
filled with active, bustling men, each in his 
appointed place, and each filling his special 
duty. 

Then again the megaphone was lifted, and 
over the decks came the strident command of 
Lieutenant-Commander Mason, ringing full of 
strength and energy, "Clear ship for action!" 

There was nothing of the braggart in 
Schley's tone when, noticing me sitting on a 
board reaching from rail to rail of the bridge, 
he crossed over, and placing his hand on my 
shoulders, said, while his eyes sparkled with 
enthusiasm, "We've got them now, my boy, 
and we'll lick them." 



AND SANTIAGO 91 

It was said with that quiet, extraordinary 
confidence in the ability of anything American 
to be unconquerable, which has always so 
strongly marked the Admiral's conception 
and appreciation of the American sailors' 
qualities. 

But I hardly heeded him, for I was keenly 
interested in watching the transformation 
going on below, the while my heart beat- 
ing furiously somewhere up under the roof of 
my mouth, so that I had to swallow once in 
awhile to keep it in its right place. Along the 
decks, and wherever my eye could reach a 
kaleidoscopic change was going on, more 
wonderful and more rapid than ever magician's 
wand had accomplished in my boyhood books. 

When Mr. Mason had called "Clear ship for 
action," everything human of that crew of 500 
men had begun to move swiftly. Imagine a 
village of 500 souls being suddenly startled and 
turned out by a quick call that an enemy was 
approaching and that some defense must be 
made. Picture the dire confusion that would 
result. But here, in a little less than five 
minutes of what seemed to be wildest chaos, 
the whirl stopped as suddenly as it had begun, 



SCHLET 



92 



and "Mr. Rush, in command of the second 
division, including the after eight-inch turret 
and the port eight-inch turret, reported, "All 
ready, second division, sir," and following him 
in quick succession came the report of each 
division officer. 

The great ironclad was ready to fight, and 
the bugler blew "Silence!" while the men, at 
a fearful tension, the most difficult, nerve- 
testing period of the whole situation, awaited 
orders. 

From the funnels of each ship in the fleet 
were pouring forth great masses of black 
smoke; the engines were humming faster, and 
you began to tingle with a desire to be part of 
this monster of war and its activity. 

And what was done during the five elapsed 
minutes by this quiet throng of human beings.-' 
A tremendous engine of war had been put in 
shape to hurl death and destruction in a man- 
ner marvelous in its immensity. 

At the note of warning 500 men had, in per- 
fect order, taken their various stations and 
began the work of "clearing ship for action." 
They had closed over 200 water-tight doors, 
thus making compartments that would keep 



AND SANTIAGO 93 

the ship afloat even though some of them 
might be injured. They had coupled all the 
hose to fire plugs; covered the small boats 
with wet canvas to keep them from flying 
splinters if hit; put up protection-nets of rope 
about the pilot-house, gun sponsons, and other 
exposed places ; taken down davits, hand-rails, 
and anchor hoists, and laid them on the deck 
so as to give the guns a clear sweep; removed 
everything movable or destructible from the 
deck; battened down all hatches with steel 
covers; lowered all interfering ventilating 
pipes; dropped overboard small boats, gang- 
ways, paint buckets, and other deck furniture; 
filled all division tubs with fresh water; lashed 
the anchors more securely, and furnished all 
the extra mechanical devices necessary for the 
service of the guns. 

Down in the heart of the vessel the engmeers 
had coupled the four big engines and turned 
steam on in the seventy-five auxiliary engines. 
All of the big boilers had been fired up, and 
the stokers were pouring in coal upon flames 
that already burned the clothes and skin, so hot 
were they. The dynamos had been put in 
service to work battle-circuits; the turret-turn- 



SCHLET 94 

ing engines tried; the ammunition hoist engines 
and steering engines, fire-pumps and ventilat- 
ing and force-draught blowers made ready. 
Two thirds of the engineer corps had remained 
in the main engine and fire rooms, while the 
remaining one third were distributed at the 
auxiliary engines. 

Magazines had been opened, and preparation 
made for ammunition shipment to each of the 
forty guns by the hoists and cars arranged for 
fast delivery. In the fighting tops of the mili- 
tary mast, men had hoisted up ammunition for 
the one-pounders and were standing ready by 
their guns. On the bridges the signal men, 
range-finders, and searchlight men were 
grouped, already at work. In the pilot-house 
or conning tower were men at the wheel, with 
others at the speaking tubes and similar de- 
vices which control the ship by signal. 

In the sick-bay the surgeons had arranged 
their cases of glittering instruments, rolls of lint, 
splints, bandages, and antiseptics; had covered 
the tables with rubber, and everywhere were 
grewsome suggestions of possible disaster to 
some and death for many. 

In the torpedo rooms gratings had been 



AND SANTIAGO 95 

removed, and pneumatic pressure turned on for 
the purpose of charging the air flasks ; the heavy 
torpedoes rolled in and the tubes prepared. 

And lastly, the American flag. Old Glory, 
that had floated from the flag-staff at the stern 
of the ship, came down with the staff, while 
two Stars and Stripes took its place at the truck 
of each of the military masts, the breeze blow- 
ing through their folds which waved defiance 
to an enemy. 

From each ship down the line, from old 
Massachusetts just astern of us, the Texas fur- 
ther along, and the Scorpion in the rear, came 
the signal, "All ready for action," and Schley's 
hand came down on his thigh in self-congratu- 
lation as he thought of the readiness which 
this small squadron showed to meet an enemy 
believed to be superior, 

"Silence!" blew the bugle, and there was a 
death-like stillness. 

"Load!" came another signal, and there was 
a second's bustle as the charges were rammed 
home in the big guns. 

Then "Silence!" again came the order, and 
the guns were ready for use at the word 
"Fire!" 



SCHLET 96 

"Can 3-ou make out her colors, McConnell?" 
asked Commodore Schle)', in a low tone. 

Again the long glass was raised for a search- 
ing stud}^ of the bit of bunting waving in the 
distance, and Lieutenant Hodgson, the Brook- 
lyn's navigating officer, who had come on the 
bridge, also took a look. 

"Looks to me like the American flag," said 
Hodgson, with a grin, as he handed over the 
glass to McConnell. 

A look of disappointment spread over the 
countenances of the officers, and, as I gazed 
down at the eager, alert faces and tense 
positions of the men below, I realized the 
bitter blow a vanishing foe would prove to 
them. 

Slowly the superstructure and the hulls of 
the approaching vessels rose above the horizon, 
and then the faithful J^IcConnell lowered 
his glass, and with regret the echo of every 
word announced, "The Cincinnati and the 
Vesuvius, sir. It's the American flag." 

"Make fast, Cook," said Schley dolefully, 
and at Flag-Lieutenant Sears' orders, the 
signal men notified the squadron, while up 
from the decks below came a long sigh of 




-■^ 



AND SANTIAGO 97 

regret not altogether unmixed with sarcastic 
reference to the approaching war vessels. 

One thing, however, had been proved. The 
fleet was ready and anxious to meet the 
enemy, and that meant victory. 

My heart got back to its normal place while 
the two warships approached, and officers and 
men returned sulkily to their duty, restoring 
the ship to its normal condition. 

When Captain Chester of the Cincinnati 
finally steamed alongside of us, he told us how 
he too was preparing to fight us, at which the 
men laughed grimly. 

"Have you seen the Spanish fleet?" called 
Commodore Schley. 

"No," answered Chester. "I don't think 
you ought to meet them with that small squad- 
ron. 

"Small be d — d," replied Schley. "We'll 
lick them when we do meet them. If you see 
them," he added jocularly, "tell them we're 
looking for them and we'll give them a warm 
welcome," and the sailors on deck roared a 
cordial approval. 

Captain Chester asked permission to come 
aboard, and the squadron stopped for a short 



SCHLET 98 

time while he visited with the Commodore. 
He was quite interesting in his conversation, 
telling how they had practically turned night 
into day in blockading along the coast so as to 
intercept any vessels which might bring provi- 
sions or arms into Cuba. 

I remember his giving a very curious descrip- 
tion of our Cuban allies. He said that they 
seemed to have no particular use for the Amer- 
icans unless clothes, food, or ammunition were 
forthcoming. So far they had been of no 
great assistance in either obtaining information 
ashore or in acting in an aggressive manner 
toward the Spaniards. Captain Chester was 
certainly not favorably impressed with them 
to any degree. 

The captain of the Cincinnati was very 
desirous of going with the Flying Squadron, 
but he admitted that he would have to coal 
within twenty-four or forty-eight hours at the 
very outside. He said that if Commodore 
Schley would allow him to take the collier 
which was coming down to us up under Cape 
San Antonio, he could coal there and that 
would save him going back to Key West. 
Commodore Schley responded that he did not 



AND SANTIAGO 99 

care to delay the fleet that long, and that in 
addition he did not have any orders or any 
authority to detach the Cincinnati from the 
duties she was then performing and attach it 
to the Flying Squadron. Captain Chester 
was very much disappointed, saying that his 
work off Cape San Antonio was very tedious, 
and that he had no news of any character 
except what he happened to pick up from pass- 
ing vessels, which were not very numerous. 

Commodore Schley called his attention to 
the fact that we had lost one of our colliers as 
we came around from Charleston, and that if 
he happened to come across it he might coal 
from it. 

Captain Chester took regretful leave of 
Commodore Schley, returning to his own ship, 
and we continued our journey toward Cienfue- 
gos, keeping, as was the Commodore's policy, 
out of sight of the land until such time as we 
should get very close to our destination. 

The afternoon and the night of May 20th 
were uneventful, but on the morning of the 
2ist we sighted a bark and two steamers on 
the horizon line. They evidently saw us 
about the same time, for they changed their 



SCHLET loo 

course and disappeared before we even had a 
chance to start to chase them. A little bit 
of excitement on the 21st was caused by the 
discovery of a fire below deck forward on the 
Scorpion, supposed to have been caused by a 
broken electric wire, but it burned quite 
fiercely for a short time. It was pretty near 
where her ammunition boxes were stored, and 
under orders from Commodore Schley, the 
Brooklyn was slowed down and brought along- 
side of the Scorpion, so that we could use a 
fire hose on her if necessary. 

However, Commander Marix's crew, with a 
great display of activity, succeeded in getting 
it under control, although it required heroic 
efforts. The dense smoke below deck made it 
hard to fight the fire, and several men were 
overcome and had to be rescued by their com- 
rades before the flames were entirely subdued. 
One officer, whose name I do not recollect 
now, was also badly overcome, and was ill for 
some time. 

The weather was now beginning to get 
intensely warm, the tropic sun beating down 
upon the steel warships and making them 
hardly habitable. During the day we would 



AND SANTIAGO loi 

lounge upon deck and manage to keep some- 
what comfortable, particularly if there was a 
light breeze. But at night, with the steel port 
covers closed down so as to prevent the enemy 
from discovering us by any glimmer of light, 
the quarters below deck were like Turkish 
baths. Luckily, on the Brooklyn we had an ice 
machine, which worked fairly well, and the 
more fortunate officers had electric fans in 
their rooms. At midnight of the 21st, the navi- 
gating officer reported that we were not more 
than twelve miles from Cienfuegos harbor, and 
signal was made to the squadron to reduce 
speed to two and one-half knots, which was 
barely moving, so that when morning came 
we would be in position off the harbor of 
Cienfuegos. 



SCHLET I02 



OFF CIENFUEGOS. VI. 

THE morning of May 22d, the squadron 
steamed in to within 3,ocxd yards of the 
harbor entrance of Cienfuegos, and from the 
flagship we could distinctly see Spaniards with 
small boats evidently engaged in placing mines 
across the harbor entrance. It was our first 
close view of Cuban shores, and there was 
nothing particularly inviting about them. The 
mountains ran up to a great height sheer from 
the shore and a heavy surf broke along the 
entire coast-line in almost uninterrupted con- 
tinuity, practically forbidding the landing of 
small boats, unless they went in the harbor 
itself. 

On deck that morning Boatswain Hill and 
Lieutenant Simpson, who had been the officer 
of the watch the night previous, reported that 
they had heard heavy firing on shore during the 
previous evening. Captain Cook reported 
this to Commodore Schley, who was on the 



AND SANTIAGO 103 

bridge at the time making a survey of the har- 
bor entrance, and the Commodore replied that 
he had also heard the firing of big guns at such 
intervals as would seem to indicate the arrival 
of a fleet. 

The general supposition, therefore, upon 
our ship was that the Spanish fleet had arrived 
in the harbor, and that upon their entering they 
had been saluted, or had saluted a flag. Com- 
modore Schley ordered a signal to be made to 
the other vessels announcing that he had heard 
such a salute. The squadron was brought 
around so that the broadsides pointed toward 
the harbor entrance, although there was some 
little movement of feigned disorder with the 
hopes that the enemy, if they were within the 
harbor, would notice it and make an attempt 
to come out. It must be remembered that it 
was not a very formidable squadron. There 
were two battleships — the Massachusetts, a 
first-class, and the Texas, a second-class; one 
armored cruiser, the Brooklyn, and one con- 
verted yacht, the Scorpion. As a fighting 
squadron it was not to be compared with 
the one supposed to be in the harbor, and 
if it had developed into a fact that the 



SCHLET 104 

Spanish squadron was really there and had 
they sought to come out fighting their ships 
with any sort of strategical force, it is a serious 
question whether they would not have been 
able to have escaped with a portion of their 
fleet. The supposition was that they had with 
them three torpedo boats. There were also 
presumed to be in the harbor four first-class 
armored cruisers with better protection and 
larger guns than our armored cruiser, the 
Brooklyn, and, in fact, equal in protection 
and armament to our second-class battleship, 
the Texas, and all of them with an accredited 
speed much greater than any of our ships 
except the Brooklyn. 

We discussed this thing on the deck of the 
Brooklyn that morning. It was pointed out 
that we did not have a single torpedo boat, 
and that our only hope of whipping the Span- 
iards if they chose to start out, was in concen- 
trating such a heavy fire upon the first vessel 
that came out of the narrow entrance that we 
would disable or sink her and then follow out 
the same plan with the others, if they could 
manage to come by her. 

So far we had not seen anything of the 










c 

b 



^ 



AND SANTIAGO 105 

scouts, the Minneapolis, St. Paul, Harvard, 
and the St. Louis, all of which had been sent 
down there a week before to locate, if possible, 
the Spanish fleet, and Commodore Schley 
believing that perhaps they might be in the 
vicinity of Santiago harbor, detached and dis- 
patched the Scorpion to go down to that point 
and communicate with them if they could be 
found. 

During the morning we passed twice in front 
of the harbor entrance in column, and Com- 
modore Schley and Lieutenant Hodgson, the 
navigator of the Brooklyn, from the crow's 
nest at the top of the military mast, with 
binoculars and long glass, attempted to look 
into the harbor. At one point the top of 
ships' masts could be seen, and several col- 
umns of smoke were visible. But it was 
extremely hard to get anything like a clear 
view of the harbor, because the principal part 
of it was behind a point that projected to the 
eastward. 

At one o'clock that day the Iowa arrived, 
having completed her coaling operation at Key 
West and making somewhat better time down 
than we did, because she did not have to stop 



SCHLET io6 

or communicate with other ships and had 
made a closer line to shore than we, Captain 
Evans seeing no necessity for deceiving those 
on shore. 

In the morning the Dupont arrived, bring- 
ing dispatches from Admiral Sampson direct- 
ing that the blockade of Cienfuegos be pre- 
served, and notifying Commodore Schley to 
communicate with the scouts off Santiago for 
information. It was this torpedo boat that 
brought the personal letter to Commodore 
Schley, which began "Dear Schley," and 
which complimented the Commodore upon the 
work he had done so far, and told him that 
although the Navy Department's idea was that 
the fleet was in Santiago harbor, he, Sampson, 
still believed Cienfuegos was the objective 
point, and advised Schley not to leave that 
place until he was absolutely certain that the 
Spanish squadron was not there or coming 
there. This advice was very contrary to the 
orders of the Department, which specifically 
directed Sampson to order Schley to proceed 
at once to Santiago. 

Secretary Long had sent to Sampson on 
May 19th this dispatch: 



AND SANTIAGO 107 

Sampson, Naval Station, Key West, Fla. : 

The report of the Spanish fleet being at 
Santiago de Cuba might very well be correct, 
so the Department strongly advises that you 
send word immediately by the Iowa to Schley 
to proceed at once off Santiago de Cuba with 
his whole command, leaving one small vessel 
off Cienfuegos, Cuba, and meanwhile the 
Department will send the Minneapolis, now 
at St. Thomas, and Harvard to proceed at 
once off Santiago de Cuba to join Schley, who 
should keep up communications via Nicolas 
Mole or Cape Haytien. If Iowa has gone, 
send orders to Schley by your fastest dispatch 
vessel. Long. 

Instead of obeying this, and failing to con- 
sider that the Department with very many 
more lines out for the gathering of news had 
much better information than he, Sampson, 
had, the Admiral sent by the Dupont a practical 
order to Schley to remain off Cienfuegos, and 
addressed this communication to the Navy 
Department : 

Key West, May 20, 1898. 
Secretary of Navy, Washington: 

Referring to the Department's telegram of 
May 19, 58 cipher words, beginning "verber- 
abam, " after considering information con- 
tained therein have decided in favor of plan 
already adopted to hold position, Cienfuegos, 
with Brooklyn, Massachusetts, Texas, Iowa, 



SCHLET io8 

Marblehead, Castine, Dupont, and two auxil- 
iary vessels. There are remaining the New 
York, Indiana, and monitors for Havana. 
These latter are very inefficient and should 
not be sent from base. I have directed Schley 
to communicate with auxiliary vessels at San- 
tiago, and direct one of them to report from 
Mole or Cape Haytien, then to return to San- 
tiago and report further at Cienfuegos or 
Havana as they consider best. The plan may 
be changed when it becomes certain a Spanish 
fleet is at Santiago. Sampson. 

But the next day Admiral Sampson evidently 
had a change of heart, and he dispatched the 
Hawk to find Schley and order him to move to 
Santiago, while he sent the Department a dis- 
patch dated May 21st, saying that he had finally 
ordered Schley to go to Santiago de Cuba. 
But while his dispatch to the Secretary of the 
Navy read as follows: 

Key West, Fla., May 21, 1898. 
Secretary of the Navy, Washington: 

Schley has been ordered to Santiago de 
Cuba. Sampson. 

the truth was that the dispatches sent by the 
Hawk were not distinct and definite orders at 
all for Schley to move to Santiago. The fact 
of the matter was that the dispatch read, "If 



AND SANTIAGO 109 

you are satisfied that the Spanish fleet is not 
at Cienfuegos, proceed with all dispatch to 
Santiago." 

The Hawk, with these dispatches, arrived 
together with the Castine, a gunboat, and the 
Merrimac, the collier, on the morning of the 
23d. In the meantime no communication had 
been established with the shore, the high surf 
preventing the landing of a boat, and peculiar 
signals seen at night giving us the impression 
that the coast was guarded and that the enemy 
was keeping up signals with the fleet in the 
harbor so as to notify them of our every move- 
ment. 

The blockade, as established by Commodore 
Schley, considering the smallness of his squad- 
ron, was quite effective. A picket line was 
placed inside, about two miles from shore, 
consisting variously of the Scorpion, Dupont, 
and Castine; while the Brooklyn, Massa- 
chusetts, Texas, and Iowa formed a line about 
four miles from the harbor entrance. The 
curious part of the situation was that 
while, as afterwards discovered, the Spanish 
fleet had been in Santiago for six days, the 
four fast scouts were absolutely in ignorance 



SCHLET no 

of it and were daily sending dispatches to the 
Department, Captain Cotton of the Harvard 
on the 25th telegraphed Secretary Long as fol- 
lows: 

Left the Yale and St. Paul at Santiago May 
24. Minneapolis has gone to report to Schley 
at Cienfuegos. Yale reconnoitered Santiago 
de Cuba May 21. He reports fortified 
strongly. Saw nothing in harbor. I have 
not seen the Spanish fleet. Have not ascer- 
tained anything respecting recent movements 
the Spanish fleet. Proceed for coal to Key 
West May 26. I have only 450 tons of coal. 
The Minneapolis must coal within the next 
few days. Yale early next week. Schley 
directs me to inform the Department Sampson 
decided to have the command of Schley sta- 
tioned off Cienfuegos and his own off Havana. 
The Minneapolis reconnoitered San Juan, 
Porto Rico, May 21. Spanish fleet not there. 

The criticism has been applied that within a 
day after Schley arrived at Cienfuegos, and 
again within a day after he arrived at Santi- 
ago, he should have determined by shore com- 
munication the exact location of Cervera's 
fleet. But these four scouts had been in the 
vicinity of Santiago since May i8th, and in one 
case, that of Captain Sigsbee, and according 
to another case as quoted above, that of Cap- 



AND SANTIAGO m 

tain Wise of the .Yale, had reported with 
almost absolute positiveness that there were 
no indications of the Spanish fleet being in 
that vicinity. And yet in comfortable berths, 
cleaning their bottoms and getting on a supply 
of coal, securely hidden behind the high hills, 
the Spanish fleet of Cervera had been anchored 
in Santiago harbor. 

This was the exact situation on May 22d, 
when Commodore Schley decided to take the 
advice of Admiral Sampson and remain at 
Cienfuegos. The most serious part of the 
problem naturally was the coaling of our war- 
ships, which will be treated of in a separate 
chapter. The indecision of Sampson, and his 
failure to carry out the definite orders of the 
Department, were not entirely the reasons, 
however, why Schley remained at Cienfuegos. 
He himself still believed that the Spanish fleet 
was either inside the harbor, or that he would 
catch them at sea trying to go in, and this 
opinion of his was further strengthened at 
noon on the 23d, when the British steamer 
Adula of the Atlas line. Captain William 
Walker, approached us and asked permission 
to go in the harbor. 



SCHLET 112 

Captain Walker stated that he was under 
orders from United States Consul Dent at 
Kingston to bring away one Hoffern, a sailor 
of the U. S, S. Niagara, who was in the Spanish 
hospital with a broken leg. And then this 
British captain told us a story which practi- 
cally firmly convinced the Commodore that the 
Spanish fleet was not in Santiago, and that if 
he desired absolute information as to whether 
they were in that harbor or in the harbor of 
Cienfuegos, it would be wise to allow the 
Adula to go in and wait for her to come out, 
compelling her captain, if possible, to give us 
information. 

The British captain had said that on the 
night of the i8th he counted seven ships by 
the lights they carried, about seventy miles 
south one-half west of Santiago. The next 
day it had been reported at Kingston, Jamaica, 
that the Spanish fleet was at Santiago, but on 
the day following. May 20th, they had left and 
gone to Cienfuegos. He volunteered the fur- 
ther information that the harbor of Cienfuegos 
was defended with electric mines which did 
not work well, but that the operations we had 
noticed were the replacing of those mines with 




•I. 









f; 



AND SANTIAGO 113 

contact mines. He said there were two little 
gunboats and one torpedo boat in the harbor, 
and that there was plent}^ of room for the 
Spanish fleet to lie out of sight of any vessels 
passing the harbor entrance. 

Captain Walker promised that if he went in 
he would not be gone over three hours. He 
was allowed to proceed, and when three o'clock 
came the Commodore began to look anxiously 
for the British steamer, expecting to get the 
coveted information regarding the Spanish 
ships. Four o'clock came; five o'clock came, 
and then darkness; but the Adula appeared 
not. And, finally, more than ever Schley was 
convinced that the Spanish fleet was at Cien- 
fuegos, and that they had purposely held the 
Adula in the harbor so that we would not be 
able to gain any information. 

The Hawk left with mail that night, and 
again we saw on the shore several times at 
different places the three white, bright lights 
which looked like Spanish signals. 

On the morning of the 24th, just after day- 
break, there was a general call to quarters, 
ships were cleared for action, and once more 
we believed that the will-o'-the-wisp fleet of 



SCHLET 114 

Spain had been found by us, and that we were 
going to have a sea fight. Once more, how- 
ever, we were deceived, and the three vessels 
which approached us proved to be the unpro- 
tected cruiser Marblehead, and the two con- 
verted yachts, the Eagle and the Vixen. 

When Commander McCalla of the Marble- 
head reported aboard, Commodore Schley told 
him of the suspicious movements of the Adula, 
and then spoke of the noticing of signal lights 
on the shore at night. McCalla said in an 
evidently very much surprised way, "Why, 
those were signals from the insurgents who 
desired ,to communicate with you. Didn't you 
know about that?" 

"No," said Schley, shortly. And for a few 
moments I thought his temper would get the 
better of him and that he would say something 
ugly. He stamped up and down the quarter- 
deck, twitching nervously at his little imperial, 
and grinding his heels savagely down on the 
deck. 

"Why in the world didn't you tell me about 
this.?" he said to McCalla. "Here I have been 
waiting two or three days to get definite infor- 
mation from the shore." 



AND SANTIAGO 115 

McCalla said something about the matter 
having slipped his mind when he passed 
Schley Sunday morning. 

The Adula had not yet come out, so Schley 
ordered McCalla to go down and communicate 
with the insurgents at the spot where the lights 
had been shown. McCalla went down, and in 
a few hours returned with the information 
that the insurgents were in need of arms, pro- 
visions and ammunition, and with the still 
more important news that the Spanish squad- 
ron was not in the harbor. 

Schley at once said, "We will move to San- 
tiago." 

In the afternoon the Brooklyn transferred 
3,000 rounds of ammunition, some clothing 
and food, three dry-cell batteries, and 100 
pounds of gun-cotton to the Marblehead, 
and ordered her to convey them to the 
insurgents, the gun-cotton and batteries to 
be used for the explosion of the mines in 
the harbor. 

At eight o'clock that night after sending the 
torpedo boat Dupont to communicate with 
Sampson at Havana and ordering the Castine 
to remain in front of Cienfuegos and await the 



SCHLET ii6 

return of the Scorpion, the squadron began to 
move toward Santiago. 

The first movement was to the southeast so 
as to deceive the Spaniards ashore as to the 
direction in which we were going; and then, 
after an hour in that way, we pointed directly 
east still in pursuit of the elusive squadron, the 
exact location of which was puzzling all our 
fleets and all our scouts. 

During Wednesday, May 25th, Commodore 
Schley attempted to keep the squadron up to 
a speed of twelve knots, but the weather was 
very heavy, and because of the Eagle and the 
Vixen, the two converted yachts, and the 
collier Merrimac with broken engines, he was 
compelled to reduce the speed to not more 
than eight knots. He was excessively exas- 
perated over this, and yet, as he said to Captain 
Cook, "I suppose I might leave them, but if 
that fleet is anywhere in this vicinity, it 
wouldn't be safe or decent to leave part of my 
squadron, and so I'll have to stay with them." 

The squadron consisted at this time of the 
Brooklyn, Massachusetts, Texas, Iowa, Mar- 
blehead, Vixen, Eagle, and the collier Merri- 
mac. All day long there was a heavy northeast 



AND SANTIAGO 117 

gale, and the small yachts simply wallowed in 
the heavy sea. 

The morning of Thursday, May 26th, found 
us at eight o'clock about eighty miles to the 
west of Santiago, and still in heavy weather. 
Finally Schley became so exasperated at the 
slow speed that he ordered the Eagle to do the 
best she could to get over to Jamaica, coal 
there, and go back to Key West. 

At two p. m. we were forty miles from Santi- 
ago. The collier Merrimac was disabled by the 
breaking of her intermediate pressure valve 
stem and the cracking of the stuffing box. 
This served as a further embarrassment to the 
squadron and a source of considerable anxiety, 
as, with the weather conditions that had pre- 
vailed since leaving Cienfuegos, it appeared 
absolutely necessary to abandon the position 
off Santiago and seek a place where the vessels 
could be coaled and the collier's machinery 
repaired. 

At six o'clock we had arrived at a point off 
Santiago harbor, with the heavy weather still 
continuing. We sighted, a few minutes after 
that hour, the Minneapolis, the St. Paul, and 
the Yale, the three scouts that had been sent 



SCHLET ii8 

there by the government to locate Cervera's 
squadron. None of them reported having any 
knowledge of the Spanish fleet. 



AND SANTIAGO 119 



COALING. VII. 

j\/lUCH as the layman might reason to him- 
1 1 self that ammunition, guns, and men 
are the practical sinews of war, an experience 
like this which Commodore Schley and his 
squadron were going through would seem to 
combat that theory, for it proved conclusively 
that one of the most important sinews is coal. 

Here were three great scout ships, burning 
among them 300 tons of coal each day; three 
battleships, an armored cruiser, and two auxil- 
iaries, i,ocxD miles from their base of supplies, 
with but one small collier to supply their needs 
in the coal line, and a heavy sea running with 
a head wind, so that it was extremely dangerous 
and difficult work for the collier to go along- 
side of the massive warships. 

Cold boilers, and therefore useless engines, 
would not make a very good showing if the 
Spanish fleet were to appear; a-nd even if the 
case did not become as serious as that, a 



SCHLET I20 

depleted coal supply would have forbade us 
chasing the Spanish squadron very far if they 
had managed to touch anywhere and coal. 
The Iowa, very curiously, had not stopped at 
Key West long enough to obtain a full coal 
supply, although there was every facility there 
for that purpose, and she would not have been 
delayed a sufficient time to cause the squadron 
any trouble. The Texas was partially out of 
coal, and the little converted yachts and the 
Marblehead with only small bunkers, could not 
hold enough to keep them in good form more 
than two or three days at a time. 

The collier was the Merrimac, and it was a 
cause of favorable comment any day after she 
had joined us, if, at least every five hours, she 
did not report some trouble with her boilers, 
engines, or steering gear. 

Twice during the 26th we had made short 
stops, and attempted to coal the ships. They 
would get a little bit of coal in them from the 
collier, and then, up would go a string of sig- 
nal flags announcing that the collier was getting 
knocked to pieces by the pounding against the 
heavy sides of the warships. The facilities 
for coaling from the collier were absolutely 



AND SANTIAGO 121 

of the worst character. The Navy had always 
managed to coal from docks at supplys tations 
prior to this, so the ships were not provided 
with anything which would make coaling from 
a collier in the open sea an easy matter. The 
colliers themselves had been sent forward 
without attention having been paid to seem- 
ingly any detail except that of putting a supply 
of coal aboard. Old wooden fenders, which 
were shredded into pulp in a very brief period, 
were all the defense which the light iron 
collier had from the great armored sides and 
protruding gun sponsons of the warships. The 
Texas, which needed coal, was the worst 
offender in this matter of smashing the collier. 
Her protruding twelve-inch gun sponsons, on 
either port or starboard, would invariably come 
down with a crash on the side of the small 
collier, if a heavy sea rolled the two vessels 
while they were fastened together. 

Everything seemed to indicate that a vessel 
with tumble-in sides, like the Brooklyn, was 
very much better for coaling purposes at sea 
than were the heavy warships with overhang- 
ing sponsons. But, of course. Commodore 
Schley had to face the situation in the way in 



SCHLET 122 

which he found it, and the weather seemed to 
be in that beastly state where no abatement 
for smoothing down the sea could be expected. 

The Commodore would come on deck in the 
morning, take a look at the sea and the wind, 
and then signal the Texas, "Can you coal to- 
day?" Much doubtfulness would be expressed 
in the answer of Captain Philip, "I will try." 
Then, eight chances to ten, when the collier 
was ordered to report alongside of the Texas, 
her captain would answer back, "She has 
broken down; it will be some time before we 
can get alongside you." Over would go the 
chief engineer of the Brooklyn with a disgusted 
crew of mechanics, and in a little while the 
Merrimac would report that she was ready to 
go alongside. Then we would watch the two 
ships grinding and crashing against each other 
as they attempted to transfer the coal, the 
collier using her derrick to put the coal upon 
the battleship's deck. 

All this time the Commodore was inclined 
to be nervous over the weather. The maps 
and weather information furnished us, all indi- 
cated that this was about the period for the 
beginning of the hurricane season, and a 



AND SANTIAGO 



123 



couple of pilots from Cuba, who had been 
picked up by the St. Paul, accentuated this idea 
and gave the Commodore to understand that 
the weather, if it did not really get worse, 
would not very much improve. 

Speaking of this himself, Commodore Schley 
has said: 

"Of course, I used to be very weatherwise, 
but I am rather otherwise now, and I cannot 
guess the weather as well as I could. I had 
no reason to suppose that the weather would 
not be pretty much of the same character, as 
it was near the hurricane season, and the trade 
winds blew along that coast almost continu- 
ously, and, while it was possible off Santiago 
to coal in the morning, it was frequently not 
possible in the afternoon when the breezes 
freshened up." 

Perhaps the entire difficulty over this coaling 
business might have been obviated had Cap- 
tain Sigsbee of the St. Paul have known that 
we were approaching Santiago. For, just as 
ill-luck would have it, only twelve hours before 
we arrived, he had disposed of a splendid 
collier which he had captured, a collier which 
had all the modern facilities for coaling war- 



SCHLET 124 

ships. He had sent it over as a prize to Key 
West. Captain Sigsbee's own description of 
the capture of this collier and its disposition 
are here given: 

"On the morning of the 25th I gave chase to 
a steamer standing in at a good rate of speed 
for Santiago harbor, and managed to inter- 
cept her just out of gunshot of the entrance, 
about 6 a. m. The sea being somew^hat rough, 
we boarded her with some difficulty, and 
directed her to steam out to the offing. She 
proved to be the British steamer Restormel, 
from Cardiff, Wales, with coal, evidently for 
the Spanish fleet. She had been at San Juan, 
Porto Rico, thence to Curacao, where she was 
informed that the Spanish fleet had left two 
days before her arrival. She was then directed 
to proceed to Santiago de Cuba. Her captain 
stated frankly that he expected to be captured. 
Both her captain and crew exhibited great 
good-nature on being captured, and seemed 
rather pleased at the result. I sent her to Key 
West, via Yucatan Channel, with an amp4e 
prize crew in charge of Acting-Lieutenant 
J. A. Pattson, U. S. N., of the St. Paul. The 
Restormel had on board 2,400 tons of coal, 



AND SANTIAGO 125 

and seemed to be an excellent vessel. Her 
master said that at Porto Rico he had left two 
other colliers, which he stated in conversation 
he hoped would be captured also. I under- 
stood that these three colliers were from the 
same company and under similar instructions." 

It is very possible that had this steamer been 
kept a great amount of the difficulty connected 
with our coaling operations would have disap- 
peared, and we should have been able to 
remain off the harbor of Santiago at least until 
some definite orders were received from the 
Navy Department. 

As it was, we made several attempts that 
day to coal, but all to no avail. And, finally, 
the collier broke down altogether, and at six 
o'clock, after hearing the reports of the officers 
and scouts that the Spanish fleet was not at 
Santiago, Commodore Schley sent a dis- 
patch to the Department detailing the condition 
of weather and the difficulties of coaling 
unless there was abatement. 

I am not intending to convey the impression 
here that the movement to the westward away 
from Santiago was altogether because of the 
failure of the ships to coal; for, although the 



SCHLET 126 

Eagle and the Minneapolis were compelled to 
leave us — the former having but 25 tons of 
coal aboard, and the latter, as her captain 
reported, with but just enough to get to Key- 
West — it is perfectly possible that we could 
have remained off Santiago for two or three 
days. But, as will be shown in another chap- 
ter, in addition to this lack of facilities for 
coaling, Commodore Schley had received the 
most definite assurances from American naval 
officers sent there by the Navy Department for 
the specific purpose of ascertaining the where- 
abouts of the Spanish squadron, that Cervera's 
fleet was not in Santiago harbor. 

Just after the Merrimac finally broke down. 
Commodore Schley signaled to the Yale to 
send a line to the collier and take her in tow. 
Three times she sent lines to her, through the 
night of the 26th and the morning of the 27th, 
attempting to make her fast. Finally, a steel 
hawser managed to hold, and the column 
started to the westward. 

We proceeded quite slowly on that day, the 
Harvard joining us, and bringing us dispatches. 
She had no more than arrived, reporting that 
she had not seen the Spanish squadron, when 



AND SANTIAGO 127 

Captain Cotton also pleaded shortness of coal, 
and asked permission to go to Kingston, Jamai- 
ca, to procure it. He left us at noon, but not 
before he had told us the interesting story of 
his getting the Harvard out of the harbor of 
St. Pierre, Martinique, while the enemy's tor- 
pedo boat was laying in wait to destroy him. 

At _noon on the 27th we were about forty 
miles west of Santiago, but during the after- 
noon it appeared as though the sea was calm- 
ing down considerably, and at 7:15 that night, 
Commodore Schley decided that it had abated 
sufficiently so that if the Merrimac could be 
put in any kind of repair, the Texas, the Mar- 
blehead, and the Vixen might be able to coal. 

The full engineer force of the Brooklyn was 
sent aboard the Merrimac, with instructions to 
use every energy to repair her, and about an 
hour and a half later, they reported they 
believed she could proceed under her own 
steam. She was accordingly run alongside of 
the Texas, and all night long, with as little 
light used as possible, the busy men hoisted 
coal up from the collier into the bunkers of the 
warship. Toward midnight, the sea had 
abated so very much that the Marblehead was 



SCHLEY 128 

ordered along the other side of the collier, and 
so, in between two heavy fighting ships, she 
worked for the rest of that night. 

During the next morning, the morning of the 
28th, the Vixen coaled from the collier, and 
the engineer force of the Brooklyn reporting 
that they had put the engines of the Merrimac 
in good working order, we turned about to the 
east, and at 1:15 o'clock started again for San- 
tiago. 

All the vessels were now coaled sufficiently 
for them to remain in the vicinity of Santiago 
until such time as the government or the scouts 
could give some definite information as to the 
whereabouts of the Spanish fleet. 

The formation of the squadron going toward 
Santiago was in fan shape, with the Brooklyn 
in the center; the Vixen and the Merrimac on 
one flank, and the Marblehead and the Yale 
on the other. This method of procedure, 
according to Commodore Schley, was because 
of his idea that the Spanish squadron was still 
at sea and that to spread his fleet out in that 
way would be to get a greater view, so that if 
the Spanish approached either from the cast or 
from the west, they could be readily seen. 



T&i&i.lit^: 




Copyright, 1902, by W. B. Conkey Company. 

'''J determined to develop their defenses' 
(xii) 



AND SANTIAGO 129 

We arrived off Santiago at 7:40 p. m., and 
the small vessels which we had — the Marble- 
head and the Vixen — were placed inside as 
pickets, while we steamed backward and for- 
ward across the entrance of the harbor. 

Commodore Schley's own report of the 
movement eastward away from Santiago is so 
extremely lucid, that I append it here: 

"After the Merrimac had broken down the 
movement was not made to the westward until 
toward nine o'clock, the Yale having had con- 
siderable difficulty in getting a hawser to the 
Merrimac. That hawser parted or slipped, I 
do not remember just which, about eleven 
o'clock that night, when I was signaled by 
Captain Wise of the Yale that it would take 
some four hours to break out a steel hawser. 
The collier at that time was absolutely unman- 
ageable. She was not capable of turning a 
propeller, and the ships steamed for a couple 
of hours the first part of the night and drifted 
the balance of the night in the attempt to 
secure this vessel. I do not remember that we 
got under way again until toward four o'clock 
of the afternoon of the 27th. Not long after- 
wards the Merrimac was taken in tow, steaming 



SCHLET 130 

to the westward, and we went a little bit farther 
than I had intended on account of the difficulty 
of getting the Yale to read our Ardois signals. 
We were obliged to go four or five miles far- 
ther on that account to catch her. 

"As soon as the sea calmed down — and in 
my judgment it was not possible to have coaled 
before — I signaled to Captain Philip asking 
him if he could coal. I think his signal 
indicates precisely that he was uncertain about 
it, for he signaled back to me, 'I can try.' 
The impression left upon my mind at that 
time was that he was uncertain, and that 
there was some doubt is evidenced further 
by the fact that the following morning, I think, 
he signaled me that both himself and the 
Merrimac had sprung a leak due to the 
motion of the ship and to the fender which 
had been placed a little abaft her armor belt. 

"The weather was very exceedingly hot — so 
hot that Captain Philip's men were exhausted 
in the operation of that day's coaling — and my 
impression now is that a signal was made to 
me in the morning, either by the doctor or at 
the suggestion of the doctor, stating that he 
would recommend that we let up on coaling 



AND SANTIAGO 



31 



on account of the exhausted condition of the 
crew. 

"The Marblehead, the Texas, and the Vixen 
all took more or less coal from this collier on 
that occasion. 

"Toward two o'clock on that afternoon, the 
coaling or steaming radius of the squadron 
being more nearly equalized, I felt that, in 
view of the suggestion of the Secretary (I did 
not really regard it as an order) that there 
might be truth in the report, it would only 
take a very little while to get back, as we were 
not very far away, and that then a thorough 
examination could be made; and if the squad- 
ron were found not to have been there, I felt 
that the military outlook would have been not 
to have gone east, but to have gone west — ^to 
have thrown myself nearer to Havana and to 
Key West, which was the base. 

"We arrived in front of the harbor of Santi- 
ago about six o'clock, if my memory serves 
me; and I think there is a record in the log of 
the ship which shows that at that time Morro 
Castle was bearing north by east and distant 
about seven miles. I continued on until about 
seven or a little after, and took up a position 



SCHLET 132 

which I estimated from the appearance of the 
land and the surf to have been about five or six 
miles offshore, and there the squadron was 
held in formation during the night. The Mar- 
blehead was instructed to take her position 
inside, near enough to be able to guard the 
entrance, and to let us know if the enemy 
appeared. 

"On the way over the Vixen blew out one of 
the gaskets of a manhole plate. She hauled 
fires upon that boiler and repaired temporarily, 
but it blew out again. I was therefore obliged 
to send the boilermaker, or at least direct 
Captain Cook to send the boilermaker, on 
board. He worked all night and succeeded in 
completing the repairs by the next day, so that 
that night, the night of the 28th, she was not 
in on the picket line at all, but remained near 
the flagship, on account of the facility that 
that gave for proceeding with the work and 
obtaining spare parts that were needed from 
time to time in the repairs," 



AND SANTIAGO 133 



A WlLL-a-THE-WISP. VIII. 



I 



T WAS the night of the 28th of May, and 
four or five miles out from Santiago harbor 
swung the squadron of Commodore Schley. 
It was not a particularly favorable squadron for 
blockading purposes. The fastest ship in the 
line was the Brooklyn, and there were three 
good battleships, the Massachusetts, the Iowa, 
and the Texas. All of the scouts had left us, 
although we could see the St. Paul's search- 
light over on the horizon line and knew that 
she was lingering about. We were sadly 
deficient in picket vessels, the Vixen being the 
only small boat with us, although we utilized 
the Marblehead and placed the two inside of 
our main line to give us notice of any move- 
ment in the harbor. 

Just exactly why he guarded so carefully 
this harbor entrance. Commodore Schley did 
not know, except that the Navy Department 



SCHLET 134 

the last two days at a point 2,000 miles away, 
had continuously urged that the fleet must be 
there. To the contrary, every iota of infor- 
mation obtained from the captains of the 
scouts that had been sent to the vicinity of 
Santiago for the purpose of obtaining infor- 
mation, was to the effect that the Spanish fleet 
was not in Santiago harbor, or anywhere near 
that port. 

Naturally, Commodore Schley was slightly 
worried for fear that while he had been pro- 
ceeding from Cienfuegos to Santiago, the fleet 
had made a detour in the opposite direction 
and had gotten into the former harbor, or had 
started for Havana. 

It was not at all an enviable position for this 
commander to be placed in. A careful review 
of the information which Commodore Schley 
had on the 28th, and on the 26th, the day that 
he made the retrograde movement, will dem- 
onstrate that at every point he was absolutely 
well fortified in his opinion that the fleet was 
not in Santiago harbor. 

Captain Sigsbee reported on board the flag- 
ship, and was received on the quarter-deck by 
Commodore Schley. As soon as he reached 



AND SANTIAGO 135 

the quarter-deck by the gangway he stopped, 
and the Commodore said to him, quite eagerly, 
"Have you got them, Sigsbee?" To which 
Captain Sigsbee replied, "No, they are not 
here. I have been here for a week, and they 
are not here. ' ' Then we walked back on the 
quarter-deck, out of hearing of the officers who 
were grouped near the gangway, and Com- 
modore Schley again inquired, "Are you quite 
sure they are not in there?" And Sigsbee 
replied, "I have been very close to the harbor 
entrance two or three times, and Captain Cot- 
ton has been in and cut a cable, and they are 
certainly not there." 

Captain Sigsbee practically confirmed this 
conversation on May the 29th, in a report to 
the Department, in which he says, "Although 
I have been off Santiago for a week and have 
been daily near the entrance, yesterday being 
in between four and a half to five miles from 
the Morro sketching in very clear weather, I 
have never seen any signs of a Spanish man- 
of-war, ' ' 

But the most convincing evidence of all was 
the bringing aboard the Brooklyn on the morn- 
ing of the 26th by Captain Sigsbee of two 



SCHLET 136 

Cuban pilots — Louis M. Preval and Eduardo 
Nunez. Preval had been clerk in the consul 
at Santiago, and Nunez was a regular coast 
pilot in the employ of the Spanish navy at the 
same city. Captain Sigsbee told Commodore 
Schley that Nunez had informed him that ves- 
sels of the class of the Viscaya could not enter 
Santiago harbor, and that he had never known 
a larger vessel than 4,500 tons to go into that 
port. He stated that the difficulty was not 
one of draught, but the great length of the 
Viscaya's class. 

Nunez, who was a little, thick-set colored 
man, was engaged in conversation by Commo- 
dore Schley, and repeated what he had said to 
Captain Sigsbee, When closely pressed, he 
said that perhaps a large vessel of the class of 
the Viscaya might get into the harbor if she 
had a tug at her head and one at her stern. 
But Captain Sigsbee pooh-poohed at this, 
saying that the scouts had never been long 
enough away from the harbor for four vessels 
to be taken in that way. 

After the interview with Nunez and Captain 
Sigsbee, a careful study of the chart was made, 
and this seemed to bear out the assertion of 



AND SANTIAGO 137 

the pilot. The channel was marked as very 
narrow, and had many short turns. 

I wrote all this information in a dispatch 
addressed to the Associated Press, and asked 
Captain Sigsbee, who was to take dispatches 
over to Mole St. Nicholas for Commodore 
Schley, if he would take it over for me. He 
said he would, and I gave it to him, in an 
unsealed condition, and, as a matter of cour- 
tesy, said to him that I should be glad to have 
him read it over on his way to the Mole. 
When he left the ship he took it with him, 
and, so far as I am able to ascertain, it was 
delivered and sent. 

Captain Cotton of the Harvard had been off 
Santiago for six days prior to the 28th, and has 
admitted in a dispatch to the Department 
dated June 4, 1898, that he had no idea the 
fleet was in Santiago harbor until informed of 
that fact by Commodore Henderson, R. N., of 
H. M. S. Urgent, and in charge of Her Maj- 
esty's squadron at Port Royal, Jamaica. Com- 
modore Henderson gave him this information 
on May 30th, twenty-four hours after Commo- 
dore Schley had finally located the Spanish 
squadron. 



SCHLET 138 

Captain Jewell of the Minneapolis, who had 
been with us for part of the day, had reported 
that he had seen no signs of the Spanish fleet, 
and Captain Wise of the Yale had joined in 
the general opinion that the fleet was not at 
Santiago, although he had brought from the 
Department a dispatch dated May 20th notify- 
ing everybody that the Department had 
received reports that the fleet was in that 
harbor. 

As in distinction to this very formidable 
amount of evidence by those at Santiago 
detailed for the special purpose, were the Navy 
Department's reports that the Spanish fleet 
was there. But in all the dispatches which 
they sent they never gave any indication as to 
where their information was obtained from or 
how reliable it was, and the weight of the first 
dispatches had been somewhat lessened by the 
failure of Sampson to send Schley definite orders 
to proceed from Cienfuegos to Santiago. 

It is true, that on the 26th, impressed per- 
haps by the constant reiteration of the Depart- 
ment that the fleet was reported at Santiago, 
Sampson telegraphed the Secretary, "Schley 
ought to have arrived at Santiago on May 24th. ' ' 



AND SANTIAGO 139 

But he did this in the face of the fact that he 
had distinctly told Schley not to move from 
Cienfuegos unless he, Schley, was positively 
convinced that Cervera's fleet was not in 
Cienfuegos. 

In this same telegram Sampson again shows 
his indecision, despite the Department's views 
on the matter, because he says under date of 
May 26th, "As the Spanish squadron may have 
evaded Santiago and attempted to reach Ha- 
vana by Cape San Antonio, I have moved west- 
ward to provide against this contingency. I 
will attempt to cover Havana from both direc- 
tions." This was forty-eight hours after 
Schley had left Cienfuegos and was well on his 
way to Santiago; and this movement, undoubt- 
edly being communicated from Cienfuegos to 
Santiago, probably kept the Spanish fleet from 
moving out, if they had had any intentions in 
that direction. 

And what is more astonishing about this 
attitude of Admiral Sampson is the fact that, 
on the 20th of May, one day after Commodore 
Schley left Key West, Sampson was given 
secret information through his flag lieutenant, 
Sidney A. Staunton, who had obtained it from 



SCHLET 140 

Captain Allen of the Signal Service force at 
Key West, that on the night of the 19th, he, 
Allen, had received from a private source in 
Havana a dispatch stating that Cervera had 
entered the harbor of Santiago the morning of 
the 19th with his squadron. This information 
came from an employee in the telegraph ofQce 
at Havana, who sent the dispatches about six 
o'clock, while the other people who daily 
worked with him were at dinner. On the 
evening of the 20th, Lieutenant Staunton 
returned to shore and received from Captain 
Allen some other dispatches which confirmed 
this first information. 

In speaking of the matter, Lieutenant Staun- 
ton says: "Admiral Sampson was satisfied that 
the information was correct, and he called up 
the Hawk and sent her with dispatches to 
Commodore Schley. ' ' But these are the dis- 
patches which did not state definitely that the 
fleet was at Santiago, and did not order Com- 
modore Schley to proceed to that port, but left 
it entirely within his judgment, at the same 
time withholding from him the information 
upon which the suggestion of their being in 
Santiago was based. 



AND SANTIAGO 141 

That Admiral Sampson really appreciated 
the fact that he had not been definite in his 
instructions to Commodore Schley is apparent 
from the tone of a dispatch which he sent to 
the Commodore from St. Nicholas channel on 
May the 27th, in which, for the first time, he 
gave the source of his information as follows: 

No. 10.] 

U. S. Flagship New York, ist Rate, 
St. Nicholas Channel, May 27, 1898. 

Sir: Every report, and particularly daily 
confidential reports, received at Key West 
from Havana state Spanish squadron has been 
in Santiago de Cuba from the 19th to the 25th 
instant, inclusive, the 25th being the date of 
the last report received. 

You will please proceed with all possible 
dispatch to Santiago to blockade that port. 
If, on arrival there, you receive positive infor- 
mation of the Spanish ships having left you 
will follow them in pursuit. 

Very respectfully, W. T. Sampson, 

Rear-Admiral, etc. 

Commodore Schley. 

This communication was sent by the Wasp, 
and the curious part of it is that it never 
arrived off Santiago and was never delivered to 
Commodore Schley until ten days after Admiral 
Sampson himself had arrived off that port. 

That Captain Cook of the Brooklyn was of 



SCHLET 142 

the same impression as Commodore Schley 
after hearing the reports of the commanders of 
the scouts, is evident from the fact that he 
made no serious objection to leaving the vicin- 
ity of Santiago, as did none of the other cap- 
tains of the fleet. 

It is perhaps v^^ell to give at this juncture 
Commodore Schley's own statement as to his 
reasons for the retrograde movement and as to 
the information which led ^him to believe that 
the fleet of Cervera was not at Santiago. 

He says: "Captain Sigsbee came aboard 
the Brooklyn on the 26th, and as soon as he 
had stepped over the side, I said to him, 'Cap- 
tain, have you got the Dons here' or 'in here?' 
He stated to me, 'No, they are not in here. I 

have been in very close. I have ' I don't 

know but that he said he had been in sketch- 
ing, but he said, 'They are not here; they are 
only reported here. ' I said, 'Have any of the 
other vessels seen them — the Yale or the Min- 
neapolis.-'' He said, 'No; they have not; they 
have assured me so. ' 

"That was the assurance to which I referred 
when I spoke of the statements of such men as 
Wise and Jewell to Sigsbee. They did not 



AND SANTIAGO 143 

communicate verbally with me, but I assumed, 
from the communication with Captain Sigsbee, 
that he was bearing to me the assurance of all 
of them. 

"At the same time Eduardo Nunez was 
aboard, and he and I held a conversation in 
Spanish. He was not able to speak English, 
and I could speak Spanish fairly well. 

"Among other things, I said to him, 'Nunez, 
what do you think of the report that those 
people are in here.^' 'Well,' he said, 'I don't 
believe that they are here at all, because the 
channel way is very narrow, the buoys have 
all been removed, you have to make the turn 
very quickly, and the channel aside from that 
is very tortuous. If they had a tug, and on a 
very favorable day, most favorable, perfectly 
smooth weather, no sea, they might get in. ' 

"I asked him how long he had been a pilot. 
He said, I think, sixteen or eighteen years, 
and that he was perfectly familiar with the 
harbor, and, as we subsequently found, this 
was exactly true. He was a very expert pilot 
and rendered us invaluable service. 

"After this conversation, Captain Sigsbee 
went on board. My habit of life, not only in 



SCHLET 



144 



principal command of a squadron, but also in 
command of a ship, was to assume the respon- 
sibility and to venture the censure of any 
movement that might justify that, but that I 
was never willing under any circumstances to 
be a participant in glories that I would not 
divide. That was the general principle upon 
which I acted in this matter. I did not call 
any council of war. The information which 
these people gave me led me to infer that my 
impression was correct, that the telegraphic 
information was a ruse precisely similar to that 
which was telegraphed from Cadiz that the 
squadron had returned from the Cape de 
Verdes. It is precisely what I would have done 
if I had been militarily managing their situation 
— to have attracted the squadrons in the direc- 
tion of either one of these ports and then gone 
in behind them. That would have been my 
policy if I had been controlling, and if any of 
us at any time made any mistakes during the 
campaign of Santiago or elsewhere, it was in 
supposing that the Spaniard would ever do 
right at the right time. That was probably 
the only reason why we made any mistakes, if 
we did. 







Copyright, 1902, by W. B. Conkey Company. 

"^ shell accidentally hit the lighthouse' 
(xiv) 



AND SANTIAGO 145 

"I determined then, that being the case, that 
a move eastward would be unwise, in that I 
knew that Admiral Sampson would have moved 
to the eastward of Havana. It would not have 
been wise for me to have uncovered Santiago, 
therefore. The military importance of that 
movement would have been to have guarded 
the westward, as that would have been the 
only place that they could have gotten in 
behind. 

"Now, just at that time, as we approached 
on this evening of the 26th the harbor of San- 
tiago, the collier Merrimac, which had been 
giving us a good deal of trouble, broke down. 
The signal, I think, was that her intermediate 
valve stem was bent and stuffing box broken. 
I concluded, therefore, that an unmanageable 
collier was not a very comfortable thing to 
have with the squadron if we met the enemy, 
so I first determined to send her to Key West 
with the Yale, but it then occurred to me that 
if we did send her to Key West with the Yale 
and she were overtaken, that we would probably 
be out a collier, and the Spanish forces, if they 
were outside, would be in so much coal. So 

I determined, therefore, that this movement to 
10 



SCHLET 146 

the westward would be wise. After the collier 
broke down she signaled to me that it would 
take from three to four hours to repair her, 
but, as a matter of fact, it took actually 
twenty-four hours, and for twelve hours her 
engines could not be moved or turned over, and 
she was entirely unmanageable. All this time 
I was closely watching the weather, hoping 
and praying for some kind of abatement. And, 
on the night of the 27th, it had abated suffi- 
ciently to allow us to coal, and we went back 
to the vicinity of Santiago harbor." 

The blockade on the night of the 28th was 
conducted very quietly. A strict watch was 
kept, of course, with all of our lights masked, 
and the Ardois signals constantly ready so as 
to inform the vessels of our fleet if any suspi- 
cious movements were noted in the harbor. 

During the night we noticed some signals in 
the harbor which appeared to us to be worked 
by electricity. There would be flashlights 
from the top of the hills surrounding the har- 
bor, to which the Morro would answer, and 
there were evident flashes from some low point 
down in the harbor which we could not con- 
strue in any way unless they came from war- 



AND SANTIAGO 147 

ships. As a partial explanation of that, we 
had the information that the Reina Mercedes, 
a second-class battleship which had cruised off 
the southern coast of Cuba for years, was dis- 
abled and lying in this harbor. Another expla- 
nation of the signals was that the Spanish fleet 
was at sea, and that these signals were kept 
working so as to warn them away from Santi- 
ago, if they were approaching it at that time. 
And so the night passed, and the morning sun 
on the 29th showed us Cuba, green with ver- 
dure, the white surf breaking along the coral 
reefs, and the picturesque old Morro, in its 
coat of dirty yellow plaster, standing grim 
guard over the entrance to Santiago harbor on 
one side, while a new earthwork guarded the 
opening from the western hill. 



SCHLET 148 



FINDING THE FLEET. IX. 

THIS Sunday morning, the 29th of May, 
was a beautiful day, and every one 
of us was out on deck early. I remember 
sticking my head up through the hatchway 
about six o'clock, and starting a constitutional 
parade, on the quarter-deck before breakfast, 
together with Flag-Lieutenant Sears and Flag- 
Secretary Wells. But a minute or two later, 
Commodore Schley came up the companion- 
way leading from his quarters and gave us a 
cheery "Good-morning." He went immedi- 
ately up to the after-bridge, and we followed 
him, taking our glasses with us. We were 
about six miles from the entrance to Santiago, 
and just inside of us, probably three-quarters 
of a mile, was the jaunty little Marblehead. 
We scanned the harbor very intently, but the 
slight haze of early morning, which in Cuba 
predicts the approach of the rainy season, 
made objects rather indistinct. 



AND SANTIAGO 149 

At 6:30 Commodore Schley said to Lieuten- 
ant Sears, "Sears, I think we'll run in a little 
closer and see what we can develop in that 
entrance." A messenger took word to Captain 
Cook, and Flag-Ensign McCauley raised the 
signal to the fleet to follow the movements of 
the commander-in-chief. We had hardly 
moved in a mile when Commander McCalla 
signaled from the Marblehead, "Just caught 
view of Spanish warship in harbor entrance," 
and in an instant Ensign McCauley and I were 
shinning up the steel side-ladder on the mili- 
tary mast to the crow's nest, and on the for- 
ward mast, climbing quickly to the same posi- 
tion, was the sharpest-eyed man among us, 
Quartermaster McConnell, with his long glass. 
As we moved on and then stopped about five 
miles from the entrance, we could see the nose 
of this black-hulled ship, and then the signal 
of discovery was made to the entire fleet, 
when there was, of course, the utmost jubi- 
lation. 

Schley turned to me later when I came 
down to the bridge, "We've got them now, 
Graham, and they'll never go home." And 
then turning to Sears, he ordered the signal to 



SCHLET 150 

be made to form column and follow the flag- 
ship by the entrance. As we moved slowly by 
at a distance of about 7,cxx) yards and opened 
up to our view the hole between the hills 
which marked the entrance to the harbor, we 
got our first thoroughly good view of what we 
knew to be the Cristobal Colon, a ship which 
the Spanish had purchased from the Italian 
government, and which was easily distinguish- 
able because her military mast was placed very 
curiously between her two funnels. At the 
same time, close to her, we discovered one of 
the torpedo boats. There was the most intense 
excitement now, and every officer [on board at 
the time, who could climb to an elevated posi- 
tion, was busy with a pair of binoculars trying 
to locate Spanish vessels. 

As we opened up the eastern channel, which 
runs around the little island in the mouth of 
the harbor, we could just see the nose and the 
military top of another war vessel, the height 
of whose masts and their construction indi- 
cating that it was either the Viscaya, the 
Oquendo, or the Teresa, all of which were 
practically the same type of ships. 

Just over the lower part of Cay Smith we 



AND SANTIAGO 151 

thought we saw the upper masts of another 
war vessel, but the density of the foliage 
made us unable to be absolutely definite about 
this, as only her extreme tops were visible, 
and they might have belonged to a merchant- 
man. As it was, however, everybody aboard 
believed that we had the entire squadron 
there, for, as Commodore Schley said, "It is 
not conceivable that with a homogeneous fleet 
of that character the commander-in-chief 
would detach any single one for operations, 
especially in waters where it would easily be 
met and overcome." And yet, such was the 
case, for the torpedo boat Terror had been 
detached and had sought refuge in San Juan, 
Porto Rico, from which harbor Captain 
Sigsbee decoyed her one day and then shot her 
to pieces. 

Until eight o'clock we moved slowly by the 
harbor, noting the exact location of these 
vessels, and at 8:05 o'clock signal was made to 
the fleet to go to breakfast. At 8:30 the move- 
ments of the fleet in front of the harbor were 
stopped, and blockading stations were taken, 
similar to those we had occupied during the 
night. A few minutes afterwards the St. Paul 



SCHLET 152 

came in sight, and as Captain Sigsbee ap- 
proached us he flew the signal, "Can see a 
strange vessel in the harbor." He was imme- 
diately notified that we had already found the 
Spaniards, and he was ordered'^to come aboard 
the flagship. 

When Captain Sigsbee came aboard, he 
expressed both to Commodore Schley and 
Captain Cook the greatest surprise that they 
could possibly be there, and he said, "I have 
never before seen any sign of them, although 
I have been in all sorts of positions outside of 
this harbor. ' ' 

It is worth relating just at this juncture that 
the Colon had been anchored at this point 
since the 25th of May; in other words, that on 
May 25, 26, 27, and 28, while the St. Paul was 
guarding the harbor entrance, at times in com- 
pany with the Minneapolis and the Yale, this 
ship had been in exactly the same position as 
that which she occupied on the morning of 
May 29th, when Commander McCalla, with 
Commodore Schley's squadron, first discovered 
her. 

After the destruction of Ccrvera's fleet, and 
while returning on board the Vixen with some 



AND SANTIAGO 153 

of the officers of the Colon, I discovered that 
they were in possession of their own log book. 
I told Captain Sharpe of the Vixen of what I 
had learned and asked if it could be delivered 
up to me to take aboard the Brooklyn. The 
officers pleaded very hard to keep the log, as 
it was their only method of presenting to their 
own government the details of their cruise, but 
when I went aboard the Brooklyn from the 
Vixen that night, I carried the coveted books 
with me. It dawned upon me that they would 
make excellent souvenirs of the Spanish fight, 
but it dawned upon the Commodore at the 
same time, evidently, that they belonged to 
the United States government, and I was 
reluctantly forced to give them up. 

From the pages of them, however, we took 
the extracts which led to the development that 
on the morning of the 19th of May, at just 
exactly the same time that the Flying Squad- 
ron was steaming out of Key West, eight 
o'clock, the much-sought-after fleet of Spain 
was entering the harbor of Santiago. They 
were given a hearty welcome there, and were 
assigned to anchorages in the harbor. On May 
the 25th, notification was received that the Fly- 



SCHLET 154 

ing Squadron had left the vicinity of Cienfue- 
gos, and Admiral Cervera ordered the ships 
moved around and so disposed as to cover the 
narrow entrance to Santiago with flanking 
fires, so that the American ships could not 
force an entrance. The Colon shifted anchor- 
age to Ensenada de Caspar, which is just 
inside the mouth, and just where we found her 
on Sunday morning. May 29th. 

On May the 27th our fleet was seen by the 
lookout at the watch tower on Morro, and we 
were developed by them as having ten warships 
and nine torpedo boats. At 5:30 in the after- 
noon, when we began our slight movement to 
the west, the signal was made that we had dis- 
appeared. But this was evidently looked upon 
as a ruse, because, according to the log, on the 
28th Admiral Cervera sent an officer to the 
Morro to watch and report the position of the 
enemy's ships, and to announce their move- 
ments. 

On the 29th the log contained the informa- 
tion that we were again in sight, and steaming 
toward the harbor from the eastward. They 
recognized the Brooklyn, the Iowa, the Min- 
neapolis, the Texas, and the Indiana as being 



AND SANTIAGO 155 

part of our squadron — the Marblehead being 
evidently mistaken for the Minneapolis, and 
the Massachusetts for the Indiana, the latter 
not being such a bad guess as she, the Massa- 
chusetts, and the Oregon are of the same type. 

The log for that day announced also that 
they prepared their batteries, loading with 
solid steel shell, and also placed a buoy in the 
center of the entrance where a ship would have 
to pass in coming in, and then fired at it so as 
to get the range for their guns. 

The evidence that the Colon for four days 
was as much in plain sight of the scouts as she 
was on May 29th, when we discovered her, is 
found in these extracts from her log: 

May 25th — Shifted anchorage in the harbor 
of Santiago de Cuba on the morning of May 25, 
1898; draft forward 7.50 m., aft 6.45 m. At 
6, engines ready, and, with the pilot on 
board, weighed anchor, which was soon catted; 
cast to port. Under direction of the command- 
ing officer passed between Ratones Cay and 
Julias Point and proceeded in the channel to a 
point to the northward of Smith Cay and at 
mouth of Caspar Bay, where we anchored at 7 
a. m. in 20 m. of water with the port anchor; 
mud bottom. At this time the vessels of the 
enemy were discovered off the mouth of the 
harbor; Morro made signal to begin firing; 



SCHLET 156 

orders were given to man the main battery, 
but in a short time it was seen that it would 
be obstructed, as an English steamer was 
about to enter the harbor. Got out stream 
cable from port quarter to the south beach of 
the bay (Caspar), and veered and hauled chain 
until another was gotten from starboard to the 
opposite shore and then secured both. Head 
S. 57° W., with 75 fathoms of chain outside 
and moored on the following bearings: Gorda 
Point, N. 19° W. ; Cuarentina Point, Smith 
Cay, S. 48" E.; and Morro Point, S. 5° E. 
8:40 a. m. to noon got out a second mooring 
to starboard and made fast until we had 
secured the buoy on the same quarter, which 
had been placed as a mark. Got out steel 
hawser on starboard side, and sent crew to 
breakfast. 

Lowered 2d steam launch which took sailing 
launch in tow to bring back liberty men and 
provisions at 3:30 p. m. During 4 to 8 watch 
the small arms were gotten ready and the rapid- 
fire battery loaded. At 6 a. m. secured small 
arms, unloaded rapid-fire battery, and then 
crew went to breakfast. 8 a. m. to noon 
lighter came alongside, which commenced 
unloading at once. Squally. 

At 3 p. m. hove in port chain to 30 fathoms, 
heaving in on port stream chain and veering on 
the starboard. Finished coaling at 4 to 8 p. 
m. watch. 8 to 12 p. m. semaphore signaled 
2 suspicious vessels in sight. Mid. to 4 a. m. 
steam launch returned towing water boat. 

May 26th — 8 a. m. to noon veered cables to 
bring stern to the beach in such wise that the 
15.2 cm. gun No. 2 would cover the mouth of 



AND SANTIAGO 157 

harbor with its fire. The watch tower signaled 
3 of the enemy's vessels in sight accompanied 
by torpedo boats or smaller vessels. 

Noon to 4 p. m. anchored and moored in 
Caspar Bay, 75 fathoms on port chain, and two 
moorings to port and one to starboard; secured 
to the beach. Artillery (main battery) ready 
for action. Four coal lighters came alongside; 
commenced discharging at once. 5:30 p. m. 
semaphore signaled: "The enemy has disap- 
peared." Coaling and taking in water. 

May 27th and 28th — Finished coaling at 4 
p. m. Sent Ensign La Ciera to Morro for 
information regarding enemy's vessels and the 
buoys said to have been planted by them; he 
reported as follows by semaphore: First, black 
buoy SW. /i° S., distance difficult to determine 
but estimated 4 miles; another buoy is being 
looked for. Second, the enemy disappears to 
the SW. /4^° S. ; no white buoy is seen. 
Third, 7 vessels in sight, the Brooklyn and 
Iowa distinguishable; 2 vessels are approach- 
ing the buoy. The semaphore, in its turn, 
announced: "5 vessels in sight, with small 
vessels or torpedo boats. " 4 to 8 p. m. lighted 
a red light and showed in on starboard side in 
order to indicate position of our bow to the 
rest of the squadron. At 7:30 a. m. com- 
menced firing at 14,000 ms., the enemy's squad- 
ron coming from the eastward and steaming in 
column past the mouth of the harbor. There 
were recognized the Brooklyn, Indiana, Iowa 
(flag), Minneapolis, Texas, and a merchant 
vessel. Manned all the starboard battery and 
loaded with heavy ammunition. 

May 29th — Noon to 4 p. m. various North 



SQHLET 158 

American vessels in sight, among which could 
be distinguished the Iowa, Indiana, Brooklyn, 
and Texas type, and some merchantmen. 4 to 
mid. American vessels continue to pass by 
mouth of harbor with their searchlights thrown 
on the coast. At 4 a. m. the 2 destroyers 
returned, having been cruising at the mouth of 
the harbor, and reporting enemy's vessels from 
W. to SE. from point, i. e., Brooklyn, Texas, 
Indiana, Iowa, a yacht, and merchantmen. 
The ensign of the Pluton, on passing this ves- 
sel on way to the flagship, reported having 
been within about 4 miles of the enemy's ves- 
sels. At 1 1 sent an officer and 2 quartermas- 
ters to semaphore on duty; they reported: 
"Enemy's squadron in sight," by semaphore, 
and by flag signals announced the arrival of a 
man-of-war with two masts, with three military 
tops on each, and two smokestacks. 

So on this pleasant Sunday morning, the 
29th of May, we had discovered that which all 
the fast scouts, equipped with excellent com- 
manding officers, had failed in —although they 
had had four days' opportunity — the Spanish 
squadron. 

Commodore Schley told Captain Sigsbee to 
hold himself in readiness to immediately take 
a telegram to Mole St. Nicholas, notifying the 
Navy Department of the presence of the Span- 
ish fleet in Santiago, and also to communicate 
with Admiral Sampson, who was supposed to 



AND SANTIAGO 159 

be in the Windward passage. This telegram 
was written about nine o'clock, and at half 
past nine the St. Paul left with them. It was 
a purely dispassionate, plain statement of 
facts, so much so that the Commodore even 
refrained from mentioning that the third ship, 
which we had not been able to identify, was 
positively another one of them. The dispatch 
was as follows: 

Enemy in port. Recognized Cristobal Colon 
and Infanta Maria Teresa and two torpedo 
boats moored inside Morro, behind point. 
Doubtless the others are here. We are short 
of coal; using every effort to get coal in. Vixen 
blew out manhole gasket; have sent boiler- 
maker on board to repair. Collier's repaired 
machinery being put together. Have about 
3,000 tons of coal in collier — but not easy to 
get on board here. If no engagement in next 
two or three days, Sampson's squadron could 
relieve this one to coal at Gonaives or vicinity 
of Port au Prince. Hasten me dispatch boats 
for picket work. Brooklyn, Iowa, Massachu- 
setts, Texas, Marblehead, Vixen, and colliers 
compose squadron here. (Following additional 
sentence to Department.) Am sending St. 
Paul to communicate with Sampson. 

At shortly after nine the signal was raised 
for all commanding officers of vessels to 
appear upon the flagship, and within twenty 



SCHLET i6o 

minutes there were gathered in the cabin of 
the Brooklyn a famous coterie of naval officers. 
There were Commodore Schley and Captain 
Francis A. Cook of the Brooklyn, Captain 
Robley D. Evans of the Iowa, Captain Francis 
A. Higginson of the Massachusetts, Captain 
John Philip of the Texas, Commander Bowman 
McCalla of the Marblehead, and Lieutenant- 
Commander Alexander Sharpe, Jr., of the Vixen. 

Commodore Schley explained to the com- 
manding officers his plan of battle if the Span- 
ish fleet attempted to come out of the harbor, 
and his idea as to that was very similar to the 
plan afterwards adopted b}' Admiral Sampson, 
that is, to the effect that it. being absolutely 
necessary for the enemy to exit in single file, 
the ships of the American squadron should 
concentrate their fire for at least a brief 
period, on each ship as she emerged, and thus, 
if possible, partially disable them. 

His idea about this was that a ship being 
under such terrible fire for even a few moments 
would, even if she escaped destruction, be in 
such a condition as to be easily handled by any 
one of our squadron, and that the concentration 
of fire would also serve another purpose, that 




Copyright, 1902, by W. B. Coukey Company. 

" The marines were in exposed positions' 

(XV) 



AND SANTIAGO i6i 

of disarranging the enemy's aim. This, the 
Commodore explained, was not a tactical con- 
centration of our whole force, but a division of 
our fire which could at any time be ended by 
commanding officers of ships using their own 
discretion as to when to break away and attack 
another ship. 

Captain Evans asked Commodore Schley if 
it was his intention to remain immobile when 
the fleet came out, simply firing at them as 
they left the entrance, or whether it was his 
plan to steam directly at the enemy's ships. 
Commodore Schley turned upon him quickly 
and said, "Certainly. What do you think I'd 
do.'' We'll get just as close to that entrance 
as we possibly can, the instant we see them 
making a move to come out, and I don't think 
they'll get very far." 

The morning and part of the day of the 29th 
were spent in comparing notes among the 
ships as to the height of the different Spanish 
vessels' masts from the water line, and other 
details, and the Vixen and the Marblehead, 
which were smaller targets than the big ships 
because of their size, were ordered to investi- 
gate as closely as possible and see if any more 
11 



SCHLET 162 

Spanish ships could be seen in the harbor. A 
careful watch was kept, however, but so far as 
could be noted, the Spanish ships did not have 
up steam, and no attempt was apparently 
being made to escape. At 3:45 in the after- 
noon the Brooklyn signaled to the fleet to go 
by the harbor in column, and for navigating 
officers and lookouts to take particular note as 
to the number of ships and their accurate 
position. The Vixen made a little dash in 
shore toward the harbor, and Lieutenant- 
Commander Sharpe reported that he was posi- 
tive that he could make out two vessels of the 
Viscaya class, besides the Cristobal Colon, a 
torpedo boat, and what looked like a merchant- 
man. But this last was, undoubtedly, the 
Reina Mercedes, which lay just inside of the 
Colon and which was disabled. 

At six p. m. the ships took up the column 
which Commodore Schley, because of the 
smallness of his force, concluded would best 
be mobile, with the exception of the Marble- 
head and the Vixen, which were to remain 
inside the column as pickets. The mobility of 
the column consisted in moving in an ellipse, 
running two or three miles each side of the 



AND SANTIAGO 163 

harbor, one ship in the ellipse continually hav- 
ing her broadside facing the entrance. The 
advantage of this was that if the enemy 
attempted to escape the American ships would 
already be in motion with their engines active, 
and that a turn of the wheel would bring the 
squadron in line for the Dons, and still another 
turn would start them east or west, accordingly 
as the enemy shaped its course. 

It should have been mentioned that, in the 
afternoon of this day, the Massachusetts had 
coaled from the Merrimac in the face of the 
enemy and under the guns of the forts. 

Such being the case, the energy and watch- 
fulness of Commander Sharpe, and the readi- 
ness with which the ships went to quarters and 
opened fire, drove the destructive boat back 
into the harbor and probably prevented a dis- 
aster to one of our ships. 

Monday, May 30th, efforts were made to 
locate the entire Spanish squadron, and it was 
decided that as soon as the Vixen could coal, 
she should take Nunez, the colored Cuban 
pilot we had aboard, and land him at some 
point where he could get information from 
friendly sources ashore. 



SCHLET 164 

During the morning the New Orleans arrived, 
convo3'ing the collier Stirling, and this new 
cruiser which had just been bought from Brazil 
and which was a very formidable-looking ship 
with very long calibre guns, made a fine addi- 
tion to our squadron. All that was needed 
now to make the fleet a perfect one was a 
number of boats small enough to be used for 
picket boats and a couple of good-sized tor- 
pedo boats that could chase the enemy's 
similar craft if they came out. 

A curious incident which closed this day was 
the appearance of the H, M, S. Indefatigable, 
which ran up to our line and asked permission 
to go inside the harbor and take out its consul. 
Commodore Schley granted the permission, 
but told them that we had the enemy penned 
up in there. Much to our surprise, when the 
young officer had returned to his own ship, the 
war vessel turned around and stood for Ja- 
maica, flying a pennant which read, "No harm 
done by your courtesy." I know we were 
very much puzzled by this signal, and finally 
construed it into meaning that as long as we 
were aware of the presence of the Spanish in 
the harbor he would not bother going in. 



AND SANTIAGO 165 



RECONNAISSANCE. X. 

NO, NO, my boy, you can't go. You're a 
non-combatant; there's no need of your 
exposing yourself unnecessarily, and besides, 
you can see the whole thing just as well from 
the deck of the Brooklyn as out with us. 
We're not going to do any real scrapping, but 
I want to find out what those fellows have, 
and we'll simply run in and locate their bat- 
teries. " 

It was a glorious morning. The long, waver- 
ing sheet of gray mist had risen reluctantly, 
and the brilliant sunshine changing its gray to 
clouds of crimson and gold, had finally con- 
quered, disclosing high hills of emerald verdure, 
dotted with the darker green of the palm or 
tinged with a ruddy tone where the scarlet- 
flowered creepers grew in greater luxuriance, 
and at their base a long line of gleaming, silvery 
coral sand, outlined the more distinctly by the 
leaping, glistening, white foam that curled up 



SCHLET i66 

over the rocky shore, save in one spot, where 
the line was broken by the narrow opening 
between the hills that marked the entrance 
to Santiago harbor. The heavy, rolling sea 
sparkled greenly in the sunlight, whose rays 
were reflected from the polished brass work and 
guns of some smaller vessels tossing nearer 
shore, and from the huge ships of war swing- 
ing so majestically on the waves. 

This was the scene off the coast of southern 
Cuba the early morning of May 31, 1898, and 
the point which these vast warships were so 
jealously guarding was that little opening 
between the hills; the tiny stretch of smooth 
water, which if followed would lead up the 
bay to where the city of Santiago lay snug- 
gled, protected by the high hills, six miles 
away at the coast-line. But there were in the 
city that day anxious hearts, despite the fan- 
cied protection of the hill, for the huge, 
quakcr-gray ships, floating in semi-circle out 
at sea, were an enemy's cordon of death, and 
bombardment, with all its terrible results, was 
momentarily looked for. 

But aboard the ship, if those who feared 
could have seen, there was no indication of 



AND SANTIAGO 167 

attack. True, the decks were stripped as if 
for lighting, being ready at a moment's no- 
tice to battle, but about them the men were 
lounging, clad in dirty clothes, waiting for the 
sea to calm down so that necessary coal could 
be taken from the colliers. The morning wore 
on, and the sea quieting, colliers ranged along- 
side, and soon, under sight of the walls of 
Morro, and almost within distance of the huge 
guns on the Spanish fleet penned within the 
harbor, was presented the spectacle of the 
Texas, the Brooklyn, and the Marblehead 
busy replenishing their coal bunkers, a decid- 
edly unaggressive occupation. 

But, from somewhere on the ship, I had 
caught the rumor that a bombardment was to 
be made, and I waited about, anxious not to 
miss a chance to see it. When the order came 
that the Commodore's flag was to be trans- 
ferred to the Massachusetts and that she and 
some of the others were to make the attack, I 
was eager to be of the party. Then it was I 
begged of the Commodore to take me 
along, and he had replied, "No, you can't go. 
We're not going to do any real scrapping, but 
I want to find out what those fellows have, 



SCHLET i68 

and we'll simply run in and locate their 
batteries. ' ' 

But I was extremely persistent, urging the 
necessity of a close observance for an accurate 
report, and finally Schley consented, and jubi- 
lantly I joined the party which, together with 
the Commodore's flag, were carried over to the 
Massachusetts by the little converted yacht. 
Vixen, Captain Sharpe commanding. Among 
the group were Commodore Schley, Flag-Lieu- 
tenant Sears, Flag-Secretary Wells, Flag- 
Ensign and Signal-Officer Edward McCauley, 
and I. We all wore our white linen suits, for 
the weather was extremely hot, even the Com- 
modore wearing white with no insignia of his 
rank. 

As we climbed up the sides of the Massachu- 
setts we were heartily greeted, and there was 
some wonder as to the cause of our coming. 
Captain Higginson and some of his officers 
received us, and we walked back to the 
quarter-deck. 

Leaning up against one of the big guns in 
the turret Commodore Schley patted it with 
his hand and said: 

"Higginson, how would you like to fire a 



AND SANTIAGO 169 

shot or two at that fellow in the entrance so 
as to get them to open up their batteries on 
shore?" 

Captain Higginson and the officers near him 
fairly jumped with delight. 

"Very much indeed," replied Captain Hig- 
ginson, expressively, and his officers joined in 
the chorus of approval. 

"I'm sure I could plunk her if we get the 
range on her," said Lieutenant Glennan, who 
had charge of the big pair of beauties in the 
forward turret. 

"Well," said Commodore Schley, "tell your 
bullies that after they have finished their mid- 
day meal I will let them have a chance. ' ' 

The men were told and there was a rousing 
cheer that might have been heard ashore. 

We stood on the quarter-deck, in the shade 
of the awning for a while, chatting. 

"I am told," said Higginson, "that the Indi- 
ana put a shell from her thirteen-inch gun 
through a target at 2,000 yards, and then went 
through the same hole with a second shell. 
Pretty good work for one of these fellows, ' ' 
and the muscular little captain stroked the 
muzzle of one of the four thirteen-inch guns 



SCHLET 170 

that made up the main battery of the big ship 
of the line. 

Don't get out a tape measure or a foot-rule 
and measure off thirteen inches and wonder to 
what portion of the gun that refers, because 
it would avail you little; but rather listen to 
the account of the stupendousness of this 
greatest engine of destruction, of modern days. 
A "thirteen-inch breech-loading rifle," as the 
biggest gun used in the Navy is technically 
described, is a piece of metal weighing 136,000 
pounds, a few inches over 39 feet in length, 
and with a powder-space 15.5 inches in diame- 
ter and 80.8 inches long. 

The only reference to thirteen inches is in 
the diameter of the steel projectile fired. This 
monstrous gun throws a projectile that weighs 
i,iob pounds, and the amount of powder con- 
sumed for each shot so fired is 520 pounds. 
The explosion of this powder sends this weight 
of 1,100 pounds of metal from the muzzle at 
the speed of 2,100 feet per second, and with 
an energy of 33,627 tons — enough to send it 
through twenty-four inches of steel at 1,000 
yards, and twenty-one inches at a mile distant; 
and while the mechanism of this gun is com- 



AND SANTIAGO 171 

plicated, and while every part after every shot 
must be cleaned, so complete is the discipline 
aboard that it may be fired once every three 
minutes. 

After luncheon, Commodore Schley having 
lunched with Captain Higginson; Lieutenants 
Sears, Wells, and myself with the ward room 
officers, and Ensign McCauley with the junior 
officers, grouped around the pilot-house on the 
upper bridge. There Captain Higginson and 
Commodore Schley discussed the approach- 
ing bombardment, fixing the distance at which 
we should fire at 7,cxx> yards — Commodore 
Schley basing his reasons for this on the fact 
that in several orders issued, the Navy Depart- 
ment had deprecated exposure of warships to 
the fire of unknown land batteries, until after 
the fleet of Cervera had been found and 
destroyed, a policy perfectly natural be- 
cause our Navy as assembled in the West 
Indian waters was not so large that we could 
afford to cripple the ships, and, as Secretary 
Long expressed it in his dispatches, there were 
"too few dry-docks at any ports within our 
possessions where ships could be repaired with 
any facility." 



SCHLET 172 

Captain Higginson concurred with Commo- 
dore Schley in his views and a flag message was 
sent to the other ships ordering them to prepare 
to go in and bombard. This message read: 

The Massachusetts and New Orleans and 
Iowa will go in after dinner to a distance of 
7,000 yards and fire at Cristobal Colon with 
eight and twelve and thirteen-inch guns. 
Speed about ten knots. 

When the message was read, the effect was 
magical. Officers and men alike became 
imbued with life and activity. Listlessness and 
ennui, borne of the waiting and the heat, van- 
ished, and like a transformation came quick, 
snappy orders; alert, happy replies. Mes- 
sengers hurried here and there, the smaller 
apprentice boys with shining eyes and height- 
ened color; while among the men there was 
apparent a strong feeling of delight at the 
thought that at last the months of practice at 
target shooting were to be consummated by a 
real attack at the "dagoes," and when finally 
the order was given to "Move in," a ripple ran 
over the ship from bow to stern, that only the 
fine discipline of a man-of-war kept from 
breaking into a rousing cheer. 



AND SANTIAGO 173 

Commodore Schley had taken up a position 
near the conning tower on the little bridge 
that surrounded it, and several of us were 
standing on the top of the thirteen-inch turret. 
Suddenly, noticing our position, he called 
somewhat sharply, "I would not expose myself 
like that, if I were you, boys. You don't have 
to do it, and I do," and as we looked upon this 
as a sort of order coming from so high an 
authority, we stepped down and took our posi- 
tions in the rear of the conning tower. 

"Tell them to clear for action," said the 
Commodore, and the signal had hardly been 
made out when a cheer from each ship came 
over the water. 

"Tell them to get ready for firing and go to 
quarters," added the Commodore. 

The men were at their guns in an instant. 

"Fire only with the large guns; get the 
range of the ship in the harbor and hit her if 
you can. The New Orleans may try a few 
shots at Morro for a range. ' ' 

The ships were ready to move in when Cap- 
tain Higginson, preparing to go to his fighting 
station in the steel-protected conning tower, 
said: 



SCHLET 174 

"You had better step in the tower, Commo- 
dore; you will be safe there." 

"No," replied Commodore Schley; "I want 
to see things. I can't see there. " 

Then, still chewing his cigar, he stood with 
his glasses in his hands looking toward the 
objective point. 

The men of the secondary batteries who were 
not busy profited by the example and stood out 
on the open deck and watched the firing of 
the big guns. 

The three war vessels were then about six 
miles from the entrance to the bay, southwest 
of it, and where the Cristobal Colon could not 
be seen as she lay broadside on in the narrow 
entrance or nook. There was but one place 
where she could be fired at by the American 
ships, and the firing would have to be done, if 
the ships were moving, in about two minutes. 

"Go ahead at ten knots northeast," was the 
order issued by the Commodore, and the ships 
straightened out. 

"Fire when you are at about 7,000 yards," 
was the next order from the Commodore, who 
then stood on top of the big thirteen-inch gun 
turret. 



AND SANTIAGO 175 

Lieutenant Potts, with the stadimeter, tolled 
off the distances to Lieutenant Sears, and when 
7, OCX) yards was announced the Cristobal 
Colon's stem and the bow of the partly 
dismantled Reina Mercedes showed in the 
harbor. 

"You can fire now," said the Commodore to 
the semi-stripped gun-captain, who sat uncon- 
cernedly in the opening of the great turret; 
and then the Commodore stepped off the turret 
in order to avoid the concussion. 

"Let her go, lieutenant!" was heard from 
the turret. 

There was a frightful roar and an immense 
half-ton projectile, propelled by the explosion 
of five hundred pounds of powder, went flying 
toward the mark. For three seconds it flew 
along its trajectory and when it dropped there 
arose a fountain of water, which for a minute 
hid the Colon from sight, while a ringing cheer 
went up from the jackies on deck. 

"A little short there. Try your other a little 
higher up," said the Commodore, 

Elevated to 8,000 yards the second big fellow 
hurled a projectile toward the enemy. 

"A fair hit!" cried the men, as the shell 



SCHLET 176 

crashed near the stern of the Reina Mercedes 
and exploded. 

The two after-guns then spoke, and then 
the entrance of the harbor of Santiago de Cuba 
was shut out of vision from the battleship. 

By this time the little cruiser New Orleans 
had come in range, and the forts were opening 
a steady fire from what were evidently high- 
power modern guns. The shells dropped thick 
and fast over or short of the Massachusetts, 
and the American blue-jackets jeered and 
laughed at the bad aim of the Spaniards. One 
very well-put shot went close, through the 
uppersvorks of the Massachusetts, but it did not 
hit anything and simply made a splashing in 
the water upon the other side of the battleship. 

"Well, the dagoes are getting a little bet- 
ter," said a sailor. 

The remark caused another waggish blue- 
jacket to say: 

"Oh, give them a year and they will learn 
to shoot." 

The long rifles of the New Orleans were by 
this time playing a tattoo on the low-lying forts 
near the entrance, so as to draw their fire and 
ascertain their range, and the Iowa's biggest 




Copyright, 1902, by W . B. Coukey Company. 

Thty are all out and coming to the west ' 
(xvii) 



AND SANTIAGO 177 

twelve-inch guns were hurling steel projectiles 
into the harbor entrance. 

The forts kept up a perfect cannonade and 
some of their shots were well aimed, so far as 
the range was concerned, but they were not 
effective. 

The Cristobal Colon opened fire with her big 
guns, but her shells never once came near the 
line. 

After running a mile to the eastward the 
Massachusetts, followed by the other American 
warships, circled around and ran back over very 
nearly the same course, steaming west by 
south. On getting near the same range at 
which the firing opened before, the warships 
fired with their starboard batteries, and after 
delivering one round drew out of the Span- 
iards' range, Commodore Schley saying as he 
stepped to the quarter-deck: 

"Well, we let them know that we have some 
ammunition, and I know their capacity for 
defense." 

For half an hour after the ships had passed a 

mile out of the range of the shore batteries and 

the Cristobal Colon, the Spaniards kept up their 

fire. Then it became known, by the place- 
12 



SCHLET 178 

ment of the shot, that the enemy had plotted 
a neat little plan that might have succeeded 
had there been good gunnery. The modern 
guns on shore had found the range of the place 
where the Flying Squadron would have to pass 
in order to fire on the Cristobal Colon and had 
trained their guns to play on that spot. But 
Commodore Schley beat them at their own 
game by going by at ten knots' speed and firing 
on the fly. 

The firing disclosed the existence of a new 
battery mounted with ten-inch modern guns 
just east of Morro Castle, and it also revealed 
the fact that two modern guns were mounted 
to the rear of the Morro. Then it was seen 
that to the west of the entrance and opposite 
Morro Castle were two batteries of earthwork 
with modern guns. Besides this the Reina 
Mercedes had two loaded torpedo tubes looking 
down the harbor, and as in one place the chan- 
nel is only one hundred yards wide and five 
fathoms deep, it can be seen that the entrance 
to the harbor of Santiago de Cuba was easily 
defended and almost impossible of ingress 
without meeting a fire that would sink a ship 
and prevent anything from coming in after it. 



AND SANTIAGO 179 

In addition to its coast and harbor defense 
the channel was mined. 

Undoubtedly a thing that perplexed, and yet 
could not fail to interest our enemies ashore, 
was the fact that while three of the American 
warships spitting fire and defiance were hurling 
their shells into Santiago harbor and making 
the first hostile demonstration off the southern 
coast of Cuba, three or four others were quietly 
coaling from colliers they had brought along 
with them, while those of their officers and 
crew who were not engaged in this occupation 
crowded upon the superstructures and mast- 
heads, glasses in hand, and watched the bom- 
bardment with the same interest as they would 
watch a baseball or football game. 

Perhaps the best description of Schley dur- 
ing this fight that has been given was that 
remark of Captain Higginson, the commander 
of the Massachusetts, who, when asked what 
was Commodore Schley's attitude during the 
bombardment, replied: "It was that of a com- 
mander-in-chief. ' ' 

The Commodore himself gives an accurate 
description of the bombardment, and the rea- 
sons for it. He says: 



SCHLET i8o 

"On the 31st, whilst the Brooklyn and the 
Marblehead and Texas were coaling, I trans- 
ferred my flag to the Massachusetts, and deter- 
mined that I would develop the fortifications, 
because the information which we had on board, 
from the Hydrographic Office, was rather 
undetermined. I think one source of informa- 
tion stated that the batteries were old and 
another stated that Krupps were mounted. 
The general belief, however, was that all of 
the southern places were very heavily fortified. 
In fact, we knew very little about the effect of 
the higher power artillery, either on shore, in 
emplacements, or on board ship in batteries. 
Feeling that we ought to know something 
about the fortifications which defended that 
place, I determined to go in and take advant- 
age of what I believed to be the longer range 
of our own guns, and develop fully what its 
defenses were, and incidentally if we could get 
a shot into the Colon, that was lying exposed 
somewhat, to do it. 

"I think we were lying in a position perhaps 
four to five miles to the westward. The 
steaming in was at slow speed. I transferred 
my flag and named 7,000 yards as the range; 



AND SANTIAGO i8i 

went on board of the Massachusetts, and when I 
got on board it happened to be near the dinner 
hour and Captain Higginson suggested that we 
postpone until one o'clock the going in to 
develop these batteries. I assented to that, 
and after one o'clock, when the luncheon was 
over, we went to quarters and steamed in 
pretty nearly head on. 

"I took with me Lieutenant-Commander 
Sears, Lieutenant Wells, Ensign McCauley, 
and Mr. George E, Graham, the cor- 
respondent of the Associated Press, who was 
most earnest in his request to go with us. I 
demurred for some time, feeling that one who 
was not paid for fighting ought not really to be 
exposed. He was there in the interest of the 
press and I thought I would spare him; but 
we got on board and went to quarters, and 
before going to quarters, while we were stand- 
ing in. Captain Higginson and I had a talk over 
the matter. I did not feel excited myself or 
nervous over it, because if I had, I need not 
have undertaken it ; but I had some regard for 
those people who were standing upon the 
turret, because I was afraid that the shock of 
the great guns might injure them, and I called 



SCHLET 182 

to them. I said: 'I would not take such a 
position — a position of such exposure. You 
do not have to do it, but I have to. ' I was 
upon the platform, or at least the gallery, 
which surrounded the conning tower. 

"I gave the distance as 7,000 yards. Mr. 
Potts reported to Captain Higginson, in my 
hearing, that we were on that range. Captain 
Higginson reported to me. I told him, of 
course, to take up his operations as directed. 

"The moment that we opened fire the heavier 
guns were directed at the Colon, and a signal 
was made by my direction from the Massa- 
chusetts to the New Orleans to engage the 
batteries. But the moment that we began 
firing, the batteries on the hills to the eastward 
of the Morro, and the Socapa, and the Morro 
itself opened. There was a slope to the west- 
ward upon which there was a battery firing 
smokeless powder, for I could only see the 
flashes; and that was true as well of the bat- 
tery to the eastward of the Morro. The Socapa 
seemed to me to be the only fortification that 
used smoking powder. Quite a storm of pro- 
jectiles came out. They impressed me as being 
guns of six or eight-inch calibre. There were 



AND SANTIAGO 183 

many passed over the squadron. The Vixen 
was lying half a mile outside of the squadron, 
and shell went over her. 

"I could not see the firing in the harbor, but 
I assumed that they were firing at random over 
the hills, in view of the long range of these 
guns; but the Socapa battery unquestionably 
reached us and sent shells over us. I do not 
know whether their guns were superior or not, 
but the fact was, they did go beyond us. It 
was therefore military folly to risk any of our 
battleships, especially after the instructions 
which we had received, so as to have occasioned 
any diminution offeree under the then existing 
circumstances. If we had lost one or two, or 
injured one or two of our vessels, the squad- 
ron, composed of only five or six ships, would 
have been at a very great disadvantage, and it 
probably might have invited an attack which 
would have had disastrous results." 



SCHLET 184 



HOBSOirS EXPLOIT. XL 

ON THE morning of June ist at daylight, 
ships were sighted and were quickly 
made out to be the New York, flying the broad 
pennant of Rear-Admiral William T. Sampson; 
the Oregon, fresh from her long journey 
around the coast; and a couple of full-stocked 
colliers, completing practically the North 
Atlantic squadron with which Sampson, now 
assuming command, would commence the 
blockade of the harbor. In plain sight, near 
the harbor entrance, lay the Spanish cruiser, 
Cristobal Colon, and there she remained until 
nearly eleven o'clock that morning, when she 
picked up her anchor and moved further up the 
bay. 

The ships of the squadron swung idly around 
all through the day, a few of them coaling, but 
no attempt being made to further reconnoitre, 
or to attack the enemy. Commodore Schley 
reported to Admiral Sampson that he had sent 



AND SANTIAGO 185 

ashore a Cuban pilot with orders to get a look at 
the harbor and return not later than the morn- 
ing of June 4th. Admiral Sampson gave his 
approval to this procedure, and ordered that 
the pilot report to him upon his return. 

The next morning, June 2d, after an unevent- 
ful night and after Admiral Sampson had deter- 
mined that the blockade should be an immobile 
one with the vessels remaining in a fixed semi- 
circle, he broached the idea of sending into the 
harbor entrance a collier, sinking her there for 
the purpose of "bottling up" the Spanish fleet. 
The idea had already been spoken of to 
Admiral Schley by the Navy Department, which 
had asked him to use his judgment as to the 
policy of sending in an old hulk loaded with 
stones, and allowing the enemy to sink her 
with torpedoes or shots. The Commodore 
had always taken the attitude that we should 
offer every inducement for the fleet to come out; 
that while inside they were a menace to the 
army, but that if they ever did come outside 
we could certainly whip them. He reiterated 
these views to Admiral Sampson, and when 
told that Lieutenant Hobson of the Construc- 
tion Corps of the Navy had volunteered to 



SCHLET i86 

take in a ship, and, with the assistance of 
five or six men, sink her, he still further 
objected on the ground that it was a sacrifice 
of human life, with the chances ninety-nine 
to a hundred that it would not succeed, 
and, finally, that the collier would prove as 
much of a menace to us if we attempted to 
go in as to the Spaniards if they attempted to 
come out. 

But it would appear that before reaching 
Santiago Admiral Sampson had practically 
decided to make the attempt to close the har- 
bor, having talked over the matter with Lieu- 
tenant Hobson of the Naval Construction 
Department, who had been assigned to the 
New York by the Navy Department for the 
purpose of watching the effects of shots upon 
war vessels, and also the actions of the ships 
themselves. A study of the details of the har- 
bor of Santiago after Commodore Schley had 
succeeded in his famous "bottling up of the 
Spaniards" there, demonstrated the fact that 
the neck, at a point about 300 yards inside the 
highlands at the mouth, had an extreme width 
of 1,000 yards, and that of that width but about 
500 feet had the requisite depth of water to 



AND SANTIAGO 187 

allow of the passage of vessels of war drawing 
twenty or more feet. 

In fact, so fully had the determination been 
made to sink a collier in the entrance, that 
Admiral Sampson and Lieutenant Hobson, as 
we afterward learned, had on the way from 
the northern coast to Santiago, perfected all 
the technical plans for the attempt, so that 
upon arrival off the blockade all that remained 
to be done was the actual work of preparing 
the collier. 

Lieutenant Hobson was a very young man, 
twenty-eight years of age, but had already 
risen to a place of prominence in his pro- 
fession. Studious, retiring, reticent, and of 
a thoroughly independent nature, having 
always clearly demonstrated a tendency to 
mark out new roads for himself as much as was 
permissible with naval rulings, he attracted 
companions to him by his forceful self reliance, 
and by his careful and unsuperficial view of 
situations. Sampson, possessing many of the 
same splendid attributes, had taken a liking to 
the young officer, and had agreed to his sug- 
gested plans of attempting to pen in the Span- 
ish fleet. This remarkable young officer had 



SCHLET i88 

not come to his superior with a verbal sugges- 
tion merely, and expecting the Admiral to per- 
fect the details, but, with the methodical gen- 
ius for which he was noted not only through 
the war but during his school days, Hobson 
had presented plans and drawings and specifi- 
cations to show its feasibility, and at the same 
time proffered a request, amounting to as 
nearly a demand as discipline would allow, 
that he be permitted to personally conduct 
the expedition. 

One of the chief characteristics of Admiral 
Sampson is his unwillingness to risk human 
life, and when Hobson first propounded his 
plan there was a flat objection. The Lieuten- 
ant, however, insisted that it had been shown, 
both in actual and mimic warfare, that it is 
possible for a penncd-in fleet to sometimes 
creep through the blockading line, and that 
Spain's fast fleet might readily escape from 
Santiago harbor in heavy weather, thus undo- 
ing the splendid accomplishment of Schley, 
so, as I have before said, the Admiral finally 
fully agreed with Hobson's suggestions. 

"You may attempt your plan," said Samp- 
son, "but you must do it with as little sacrifice 



AND SANTIAGO 189 

of life as possible; and every man who goes 
with you must fully understand the danger, and 
that his going is purely voluntary." 

It was decided the Merrimac, the ill-fated 
collier that had caused Commodore Schley so 
much trouble and annoyance, was to be the 
sacrifice, and in her glorious ending she 
retrieved her honor. She was an iron ship of 
some 4,000 tons, and about 330 feet long, with 
triple expansion engines. She had on board, 
the day her fate was decided, about 2,300 tons 
of coal, and when the New York arrived, was 
lying alongside the Massachusetts, replenishing 
the warship's depleted bunkers. Quickly as 
the final choice of the collier was made, the 
signal was flown from the flagship that volun- 
teers were wanted "for a desperate and per- 
haps fatal expedition," and that but one man 
could be sent from a ship. And then came a 
reply that should be as famed in verse and 
song as was the famous " Charge of the Light 
Brigade, " by Tennyson's immortal pen. Not 
sustained by the heat of battle, nor by a fierce 
desire to repay shot for shot, or blow for blow, 
but with a knowledge that their duty would 
be quietly waiting in an attempt to accom- 



SCHLET 



190 



plish their object before they were picked off 
like pigeons at a "shoot," the reply was wig- 
wagged from every ship in the fleet, that not 
one man had volunteered but, instead, nearly 
the entire ship's crew stood ready for the 
attempt, officers and men alike — hundreds 
anxious to do what only a bare half dozen might 
accomplish. 

"Every man on this ship wants to go," sig- 
naled Captain "Bob" Evans of the Iowa. 

"We can give you 250 volunteers," came the 
wig-wag from Philip of the Texas, while 
from the Brooklyn the message came, "Two- 
thirds of the Brooklyn's crew are fighting for 
first place." Finally, it had to be left to the 
commanding officers of the ships to chose each 
one man, and even with the authority vested 
in them, it was a difficult task. 

The first seaman known to have volunteered 
was William F. Snodgrass, a boatswain's mate 
of the cruiser Brooklyn. His selection almost 
caused a riot on board the Brookb'n, the many 
other disappointed men claiming that his pre- 
vious knowledge of the expedition gave him 
the advantage. So bitter did the warfare of 
the men seeking glory in probable death 



AND SANTIAGO 191 

become, that the matter was finally referred to 
the executive officer, Lieutenant-Commander 
Mason, who selected another man, much to the 
disappointment of Snodgrass. 

On the Texas and on the cruiser New York, 
as well as on other ships of the squadron, sim- 
ilar scenes were being enacted, while the crew 
of the Merrimac strenuously protested that 
they, having always manned the ship, should 
now be the ones to reap her glory. Finally 
it was left to Lieutenant Hobson to chose his 
own crew of six men, the number he consid- 
ered adequate for the enterprise. The first six 
men selected from the ships of the Flying 
Squadron were: Richard Dalton, of the Brook- 
lyn; P. J. Doyle, of the Texas; J. W. Neill, of 
the New Orleans; W. Anderson, of the Massa- 
chusetts; Thomas Wade, of the Vixen, and P. 
Murphy, of the Iowa. These men, envied by 
nearly every other man on the fleet, were put 
at work, together with the crew of the collier, 
and some hands from the Texas and the New 
York, clearing the Merrimac of all her port- 
able, valuable property, and preparing her for 
her last voyage. 

But the trouble among the men which had 



SCHLET 192 

momentarily been stilled, broke out afresh and 
still more virulently, each projecting some 
special reason for which he should be more 
fitted to join the expedition than his fellow. 
Captain Miller, of the Merrimac, claimed his 
right as commanding officer to go in with the 
Merrimac, but his request was finally denied by 
Admiral Sampson, as the Captain not being 
familiar with Hobson's plans could have been 
only a passenger, while the tremendous expo- 
sure to which the men would be subjected if 
any survived the sinking of the collier, pre- 
cluded any but young men taking part in the 
expedition. The controversy among the men 
was finally decided by Admiral Sampson, who 
ruled that Lieutenant Hobson should be the 
only officer aboard the Merrimac, and that her 
crew should be made up half of men who 
formerly served on the collier, and half of men 
from the New York. The men who finally 
constituted the crew, and who accompanied 
Lieutenant Hobson were: 

Daniel Montague, of Brooklyn, N. Y. ; 
George Charettc, of Pawtuckctnele, Mass. ; 
J. C. Murphy (residence unknown), all of the 
New York; Oscar Deignan, of Ohio; George 




Copyright, 1902, by VV. B. Coukey Company. 

" The crew was at muster" 
(xviii) 



AND SANTIAGO 193 

F. Phillips and Francis Kelly, of the Massa- 
chusetts, all three members of the former Mer- 
rimac crew. There was one other man aboard, 
H. Clausen, of New York City, who had stolen 
there from a launch of the cruiser New York 
and stowed himself away, and who was not 
discovered until the colliex was well on into 
the harbor. 

It was expected that the collier would make 
the attempt to enter the harbor the night of 
June 2d, but it was impossible to complete 
arrangements in time, so it was not until the 
night of the 3d that she finally got under way. 

The general plan of the manoeuvre, as 
decided upon and approved by the Admiral, 
was to approach at full speed, stopping a short 
distance from the entrance, so that a speed of 
about four and a half or five knots should be 
attained when ready for the final movements. 
Here the helm was to be put hard aport, and 
as the ship began to swing the starboard bow 
anchor would be dropped with sixty fathoms 
of chain; while, further in, in a second posi- 
tion, the starboard stern anchor was to be 
dropped with forty fathoms of chain, thus 
permitting the ship to take the desired posi- 

13 



SCHLET 194 

tion, where she would be lying on a span 
directly athwart. The nose of the vessel would 
stick into the shoal on the channel's right, so 
that in case the anchor chain were carried 
away, the movement would cause the vessel to 
throw her port quarter into the shoal on the 
port side, the bank being only one and a fourth 
fathoms deep. 

On Wednesday night, just after dark, the 
arrangements for the collier were practically 
perfected, the guns, furniture and provisions 
having all been removed, and the coal shifted 
so that the collier lay on an even keel. 

During the afternoon I had gone aboard the 
Merrimac to witness the preparations, and the 
picked crew for the expedition, seeing my 
camera, had ranged up in line and proffered 
the request that._I should take their photo- 
graph. And this, not for the purpose of send- 
ing them to their families, but that they might 
have them when they returned from sinking 
the Merrimac. This spirit of courage and 
faith was evinced so plainly, that there were 
found hidden away in the hold of the Merrimac 
four sailors from the Texas. When discov- 
ered and hauled to the deck, the spokesman 



AND SANTIAGO 195 

said regretfully, "Well, we just wanted to see 
the fun." 

In the evening, over on the New York, Lieu- 
tenant Hobson gave the only interview which 
he permitted to any one. He said: 

"I shall go right into the harbor until about 
400 yards past the Estrella battery, which is 
behind Morro Castle. I do not think they can 
sink me before I reach somewhere near that 
point. The Merrimac has 7,000 tons buoyancy, 
and I shall keep her full speed ahead. She 
can make about ten knots. 

"When the narrowest part of the channel is 
reached I shall put her helm hard aport, stop 
the engines, drop the anchors, open the sea 
connections, touch off the torpedoes and leave 
the Merrimac a wreck, lying athwart the 
channel, which is not as broad as the Merrimac 
is long. 

"There are ten eight-inch improvised tor- 
pedoes below the water line on the Merrimac's 
port side. They are placed on her side against 
the bulkheads and vital spots, connected with 
each other by a wire under the ship's keel. 
Each torpedo contains eighty-two pounds of 
gunpowder. Each torpedo is also connected 



SCHLET 196 

with the bridge, and they should do their work 
in a minute, and it will be quick work even 
if done in a minute and a quarter. 

"On deck there will be four men and myself. 
In the engine room there will be two other 
men. This is the total crew, and all of us 
will be in our underclothing, with revolvers 
and ammunition in the water-tight packing 
strapped around our waists. Forward there 
will be a man on deck, and around his waist 
will be a line, the other end of the line being 
made fast to the bridge, where I will stand. 

"By that man's side will be an axe. When 
I stop the engines I shall jerk this cord and he 
will thus get the signal to cut the lashing 
which will be holding the forward anchor. He 
will then jump overboard and swim to the 
four-oared dingy which we shall tow astern. 
The dingy is full of life buoys and is unsink- 
able. In it are rifles. It is to be held by two 
ropes, one made fast at her bow and one at her 
stern. The first man to reach her will haul in 
the tow line and pull the dingy out to star- 
board. The next to leave the ship are the rest 
of the crew. The quartermaster at the wheel 
will not leave until after having put it hard 



AND SANTIAGO 197 

aport and lashed it so; he will then jump over- 
board. 

"Down below the man at the reversing gear 
will stop the engines, scramble on deck and 
get over the side as quickly as possible. 

"The man in the engine room will break 
open the sea connections with a sledge ham- 
mer, and will follow his leader into the water. 
This last insures the sinking of the Merrimac 
whether the torpedoes work or not. 

"By this time I calculate the six men will 
be in the dingy and the Merrimac will have 
swung athwart the channel to the full length 
of her 300 yards of cable, which will have been 
paid out before the anchors were cut loose. 

"Then all that is left for me is to touch the 
button. I shall stand on the starboard side of 
the bridge. The explosion will throw the Mer- 
rimac on her starboard side. Nothing on this 
side of New York City will be able to raise 
her after that. ' ' 

It was two o'clock on the morning of June 3d 
when the expedition finally got away. On the 
bridge of the Brooklyn stood Commodore 
Schley, Flag-Lieutenant Sears, Captain 
Murphy, Dr. De Valin, and the writer. Lieu- 



SCHLET 198 

tenant Rush, officer of the deck, with his glass 
on the doomed ship, said at precisely 2:15, 
"She is moving, ' ' and from that time on for over 
an hour scarcely a word passed any one's lips. 
The moon shone quite brightly toward the 
Morro, bringing out its white stone face sharply 
against the black background. The coal steamer, 
without a light of any kind and not showing a 
particle of smoke, moved along like a huge 
ghost ship on the dark, gray sea. On her bridge, 
as she passed under the Brooklyn's stern, could 
be seen three of her gallant crew, and one, 
whom we decided to be Hobson, removed his 
hat, while Commodore Schley leaned forward, 
and waving his cap, said, "God bless you, my 
boy; good luck." 

Slowly the Merrimac passed on toward the 
black opening beneath the Morro that, faced 
by two sharp hills, looked like a yawning cav- 
ern of death. From the bridge as we viewed 
it, the setting moon striking the yellowish 
stone of the castle and throwing the gorge at 
the entrance into a deep shadow, made the 
effect of a huge gaping mouth with a single 
gleaming eye above it, waiting and watching 
for its prey. When about two miles from 



AND SANTIAGO 199 

Morro the Merrimac turned slightly to the west 
and ran into the dense shadow of the great 
hill at that side of the entrance. Then, run- 
ning at full speed, she dashed for the entrance, 
and at 3:15 we, straining our eyes through the 
night glasses, saw the tiny black speck slip 
through the opening. For ten minutes hearts 
beat faster and faster, and then suddenly a 
Spanish gun on shore spit her first venomous 
fire, and in a moment the dark mouth had 
become a cauldron of flame and shell, the 
water whipped into a phosphorescent glare by 
the rainfall of bullets, while the echo of the 
huge guns' loud mouthings reverberated from 
hill to hill, and finally swept out over the 
water to us who were waiting on the ships, 
vainly trying to pierce the hellish glare for a 
glimpse of the Merrimac. 

Hearts sank at the awful spectacle, and 
prayers went up for the safety of the little 
crew, but it seemed as though there could be 
scant hope for those who had entered mto "the 
jaws of death, into the mouth of hell." For 
thirty-five minutes this terrible baptism of fire 
continued, the entire harbor apparently being 
covered by the guns, while the searchlights of 



SCHLET 200 

the enemy could be seen seeking here and 
there for the stranger, and then, at 3:50, all 
was suddenly silenced, and darkness curtained 
the scene. 







i 



AND SANTIAGO 201 



AN ESCAPE. XII. 

UNTIL daylight, we sat anxiously awaiting 
for a possible sign of life from the har- 
bor. In the early morning, the little steam 
launch that had followed the Merrimac out a 
few hours previous, steamed from near the 
mouth of the batteries and announced, "No- 
body has returned. But," added the boyish 
commander, as the launch steamed away, his 
enthusiasm for Hobson's splendid action over- 
whelming for the moment his loss of a friend, 
"he did it just the same." 

The coming of this little launch, even 
though it brought disheartening news, was also 
joyfully received, for it brought back a group 
of brave men — young Naval-Cadet J. W. 
Powell, and P. K. Peterson, H. Hanford, J. 
Mullings, and G. L. Russell, all of the flagship 
New York. Powell was really almost a mere 
boy, being one of the Naval Academy class 
who, like the class at West Point, had at the 



SCHLET 202 

commencement of the war been drafted into 
active service before being graduated. He 
had been chosen by Admiral Sampson to take 
the launch on its perilous task, not only on 
account of his cool headedness and ability to 
command, but because of his great love and 
friendship for Lieutenant Hobson, under 
whose tuition he had been at Annapolis. When 
the Merrimac had slipped away from the fleet, 
out into the darkness on her dash for the 
harbor, following in her wake like a plucky 
terrier, had run the little launch, so that if 
after the sinking of the collier any of her crew 
escaped, they would find help at hand. 

In the early morning light the little launch 
had scouted back and forth across the harbor 
entrance in a vain search for any survivors. It 
had suddenly been discovered by the gunners 
on Morro, and from the Brooklyn we saw the 
flashes of fire and puffs of light smoke that 
told she was being attacked. With our glasses 
we saw young Powell head his launch in toward 
the shore, until he was so close under the hills 
that the guns could not be trained on him, and 
then creep along in the shadows in an endeavor 
to get out of range. When he considered, 



AND SANTIAGO 203 

evidently, that he was safe from their projec- 
tiles, he turned to run out to sea, and brave 
Captain Jack Philip, always ready and gener- 
ous to assist, headed the Texas in to meet 
him. Some shots from the Morro fell short, 
and in a few moments the little launch ran 
alongside the fleet and we were told of the fear 
that all the Merrimac's crew had been killed. 

All this time Schley had stood on the bridge, 
watching every movement of the collier and 
launch, and during the latter's final dash I had 
seen him lean forward and grasp, almost spas- 
modically, the binoculars, while his lips moved 
as if in prayer. And when, finally, the Texas 
had picked her up, and the two were near at 
hand I saw his whole figure relax, a smile come 
over his face, while he murmured a fervent, low, 
"Thank God." But as the sad report was 
made that nothing had been seen of Hobson or 
his men, though the search had been thorough, 
the Commodore's face saddened, and turning 
quietly toward the Morro he stood for a 
moment gazing at its grim outline, and with 
tears gathering in his eyes, said, "Too bad, too 
bad. But they met the death of heroes." 

A little later young Powell told the exceeding 



SCHLET 204 

modest story of his exploit, evidently consid- 
ering the action of himself and his men of no 
account, and giving all the glory and honor to 
Hobson. Cadet Powell said: 

"During the early night Lieutenant Hobson 
took a short sleep for a few hours, which was 
often interrupted. A quarter to two he came 
"on deck and made a final inspection, giving 
his last instruction. Then we had a little 
lunch. Hobson was as cool as a cucumber. 
About 2:30 o'clock I took the men who were 
not going on the trip into launches and started 
for the Texas, the nearest ship, but had to go 
back for the engineers whom Hobson finally 
compelled to leave. Hobson said: 'Powell, 
watch the boat's crew, when we pull out of 
the harbor. We will be cracks, rowing thirty 
strokes to the minute.' 

"After leaving the Texas I saw the Merrimac 
steaming slowl}' in. It was only fairly dark 
then, and the shore was quite visible. We 
followed about three-quarters of a mile astern. 

"The Merrimac stood about a mile to the 
westward of the harbor and seemed a bit mixed, 
but turned, and finally heading to the east she 
ran down and then turned in. We were at 



AND SANTIAGO 205 

that time chasing him, because I thought Hob- 
son had lost his bearings. When Hobson was 
about 300 yards from the harbor, the first gun 
was fired from the east bluff. We were then 
half a mile off shore, close under the batteries. 
The firing increased rapidly. We steamed in 
slowly and lost sight of the Merrimac in the 
smoke which the wind carried off shore. It 
hung heavily. Before Hobson could have 
blown up the Merrimac the western battery 
picked us up and commenced firing. They 
shot wild and we only heard the shots. We 
ran in still closer to the shore, and the gunners 
lost sight of us. Then we heard the explosion 
of the torpedoes on the Merrimac. 

"Until daylight we waited just outside the 
breakers, half a mile to the westward of the 
Morro, keeping a bright lookout for the boat 
or for swimmers, but saw nothing. Hobson 
had arranged to meet us at that point, but 
thinking that some one might have drifted out 
we crossed in front of Morro and the mouth of 
the harbor to the eastward. About five o'clock 
we crossed the harbor again within a quarter 
of a mile and stood to the westward. In 
doing this we saw one spar of the Merrimac 



SCHLET 206 

sticking out of the water. We hugged the 
shore just outside the breakers for a mile, and 
then turned toward the Texas, when the bat- 
teries saw us and opened fire. It was broad day- 
light then. The first shot fired dropped thirty 
yards astern, but the other shots went wild. 

"I drove the launch for all she was worth, 
finally making the New York. The men 
behaved splendidly." 

All through the day there was a feeling of 
depression aboard the fleet, and there were 
many surmises as to the probable fate of the 
Merrimac's crew; but at four o'clock there 
was a ripple of excitement, for the call to quar- 
ters was sounded, a boat having been sighted 
coming out of the entrance. All glasses were 
trained upon it, and very quickly it was discov- 
ered to be a small Spanish gunboat, carrying 
the flag of truce. Slowly it crept out toward the 
middle of our line, and then hesitated, evidently 
bewildered as to whether the New York or 
the Brooklyn was the flagship. Admiral 
Sampson, noticing her uncertainty, moved in 
closer to the entrance, and in a few minutes took 
her officers aboard. The next few moments 
were fraught with awful anxiety for all on 



AND SANTIAGO 207 

board the other ships, and when the Spaniards 
were seen to descend the side of the New York, 
and their gunboat steamed off toward shore 
and still no sign was made from the flagship, 
there was many a query and supposition as to 
the meaning of the visit. 

The New York steamed back to her place in 
line, and then a string of tiny flags was seen 
creeping up her mast which, as the breeze 
caught them and snapped out their multi-col- 
ored folds, the signal officer of the Brooklyn 
read and in an exultant tone announced that 
neither Hobson nor any of his men had been 
killed or wounded. The relief was so great 
that for a moment there was a complete silence 
as we tried to grasp the full import of the sig- 
nal, but suddenly there was a hurricane of 
cheers that shook the very air, rising louder and 
louder as the men's joy found expression. 
Men fell on each other's necks and hugged 
each other, and many a weather-beaten tar I 
saw with tears streaming down his face. On 
the bridge the officers were most jubilant, 
while Schley, his face radiant with joy, 
exclaimed, "It is wonderful! Surely the day 
of miracles is not past." 



SCHLET 208 

Soon more detailed information was received 
aboard, and we learned that gallant old 
Admiral Cervera, being so impressed with the 
courage of the Merrimac's crew that he felt 
Admiral Sampson should know they had not 
lost their lives, had accordingly chivalrously 
sent out under a flag of truce his chief-of-staff. 
Captain Ovido. Captain Ovido said that 
Hobson's undertaking was a success, that the 
Merrimac had been sunk, and that he and his 
men had attempted to escape on a catamaran 
attached to the collier, its row boat having been 
shot away. While drifting about, however, 
they had been picked up by Admiral Cervera 
and his officers, taken prisoners and sent to 
Santiago city under guard, later being placed 
in Morro Castle. The Spanish officer courte- 
ously offered to carry any supplies to the pris- 
oners, and so returned with money, clothing, 
and provisions for Hobson and his men. 

Later we learned that the Merrimac's officer 
and crew had been confined in the Morro dur- 
ing our first bombardment of the fort, and had 
perhaps been in almost as much danger from 
the fire of their countrymen's guns as they had 
been previously from those of the Spaniards'. 




Copyright, 1902, by W. B. Conkey Company. 

" The Oregon was coming to help the Brooklyn" 

(XX) 



AND SANTIAGO 209 

It was after the release of Hobson and his 
men from Santiago, and after he had made his 
formal report to Admiral Sampson, that he 
talked a little more fully about his experiences 
He was very modest and did not seem to real- 
ize the wonderful sensation his daring exploit 
had created throughout the country. It was 
with some difficulty he was persuaded to speak 
of himself, although he referred in most glow- 
ing terms to the intrepidity of his little crew. 

"We have been thirty-three days in a Span- 
ish prison," said Mr. Hobson, "and the more I 
think about it the more marvelous it seems that 
we are alive. 

"It was about three o'clock in the morning 
when the Merrimac entered the narrow chan- 
nel and steamed in under the guns of Morro 
Castle. The stillness of death prevailed. It 
was so dark that we could scarcely see the 
headland. We had planned to drop our star- 
board anchor at a certain point to the right of 
the channel, reverse our engines and then swing 
the Merrimac around, sinking her directly 
across the channel. 

"This plan was adhered to, but circumstances 
rendered its execution impossible. When the 

14 



SCHLET 2IO 

Merrimac poked her nose into the channel, our 
troubles commenced. The deadly silence was 
broken by the wash of a small boat approach- 
ing us from the shore. I made her out to be a 
picket boat. 

"She ran close up under the stern of the 
Merrimac and fired several shots from vvhat 
seemed to be three-pounders. The Merrimac's 
rudder was carried away by this fire. That is 
why the collier was not sunk across the channel. 

"We did not discover the loss of the rudder 
until Murphy cast anchor. We then found 
that the Merrimac would not answer to the 
helm, and were compelled to make the best of 
the situation. 

"The run up the channel was very exciting. 
The picket boat had given the alarm, and in 
a moment the guns of the Viscaya, the Almi- 
rante Oquendo, and of the shore batteries were 
turned upon us. 

"Submarine mines and torpedoes also were 
exploded all about us, adding to the excite- 
ment. The mines did no damage, although 
we could hear rumbling and could feel the ship 
tremble. 

"We were running without lights, and only 



AND SANTIAGO 211 

the darkness saved us from utter destruc- 
tion. When the ship was in the desired 
position and we found that the rudder was 
gone I called the men on 'deck. While they 
were launching the catamaran I touched off 
the explosives. 

"At the same moment two torpedoes, fired 
by the Reina Mercedes, struck the Merrimac 
amidships. I cannot say whether our own 
explosives or the Spanish torpedoes did the 
work, but the Merrimac was lifted out of the 
water and almost rent asunder. 

"As she settled down we scrambled over- 
board and cut away the catamaran. A great 
cheer went up from the forts and warships as 
the hold of the collier foundered, the Span- 
iards thinking that the Merrimac was an Amer- 
ican warship. 

"We attempted to get out of the harbor in 
the catamaran, but a strong tide was running, 
and daylight found us still struggling in the 
water. Then for the first time the Spaniards 
saw us, and a boat from the Reina Mercedes 
picked us up. It then was shortly after five 
o'clock in the morning, and we had been in the 
water more than an hour. We were taken 



SCHLET 212 

aboard the Reina Mercedes and later were sent 
to Morro Castle. 

"in Morro we were confined in cells in the 
inner side of the .fortress, and were there the 
first day the fleet bombarded Morro. I could 
only hear the whistling of the shells and the 
noise they made when they struck, but I judged 
from the conversation of the guards that the 
shells did considerable damage. 

"After this bombardment Mr. Ramsden, the 
British consul, protested, and we were removed 
to the hospital. There I was separated from the 
other men in our crew, and could see them only 
by special permission. Montague and Kelly 
fell ill two weeks ago, suffering from malaria, 
and I was permitted to visit them twice. 

"Mr. Ramsden was very kind to us, and 
demanded that Montague and Kelly be 
removed to better quarters in the hospital. 
This was done. 

"As for myself, there is little to say. The 
Spanish were not disposed to do much for the 
comfort of any of the prisoners at first, but, 
after our army had taken some of their men as 
prisoners our treatment was better. Food is 
scarce in the city, and I was told that we fared 
better than the Spanish officers." 



AND SANTIAGO 



213 



THE BOMBARDMENT. XIII. 

A HALF-NAKED man, sticking his head 
out of the forward eight-inch gun-turret 
on the Brooklyn to get a breath of air, called 
back to where Commodore Schley and I stood, 
as a couple of big shells whistled over our 
heads and struck in the water beyond : ' 'Funny 
song they sing, sir," and then disappeared. 
The Commodore looked around at me, and 
smilingly said, although in a rather grewsome 
way, "He'll never hear the one that hits him 
if he is unfortunate enough to be hit." 

Five marines who acted as messengers stood 
on the deck in the lee of the conning tower and 
watched the Commodore curiously as he stood, 
glasses in hand, on the side toward which the 
enemy was firing, almost vainly in the dense 
smoke trying to get a view of the fortifications. 

It was seven o'clock on the morning of J«ty ^'^ 
6th, and five days after his arrival, when 
Admiral Sampson was making his first attempt 



H^ 



SCHLET 214 

to reconnoitre the batteries ashore and get an 
idea of their value. The fleet, a very large one 
by the way, in carrying out this intention was 
serving up a breakfast of steel projectiles of 
various energies to the Spaniards in their well- 
fortified places ashore. We had partaken of a 
light repast ourselves. The big gongs aboard 
ship had rung at 5:30 in the morning, and we 
of the ward room mess had gathered in that 
room to fortify ourselves for the fight which 
was to follow. Commodore Schley finding his 
cabin almost uninhabitable because the wooden 
flooring was being wet down to prevent it tak- 
ing fire from an enemy's shell, and the gunners 
controlling the two five-inch and two six- 
pounder guns whose breeches found a resting 
place in the cabin, were wheeling in their car- 
tridges, had come down in our ward room to 
take a bite. The electric fixtures could not be 
lighted for fear the enemy might find a resting 
place for a torpedo, and so, standing up — the 
table having been removed to make way for the 
men at the torpedo tubes — with a single sputter- 
ing oil lantern as our only light, we took our 
bites of hastily prepared sandwiches and drank 
our coffee from thick glasses or heavy cups, the 



AND SANTIAGO 215 

fine china having been stored away to avoid 
damage by concussion. 

Yet the officers stood around in a perfectly 
nonchalant manner, joking and laughing over 
the way we would probably treat the Dons. 
The only source of regret seemed to be the 
fact that Morro Castle, a picturesque, splendid 
old ruin and yet a beautiful target, could not 
be used as an objective because the Spaniards 
— with a sixteenth century refinement of cruelty 
— had confined there Lieutenant Hobson and 
his crew, as a species of protection from our 
bullets. At least this was the information 
Admiral Sampson had received. 

As I passed forward just before the fighting 
began, this gray, humid morning, it was curious 
to note the bearing of the men. A five-inch 
gun crew in an exposed place were singing 
"There'll be a hot time in the old town to- 
night." A group of men on the forward eight- 
inch turret were discussing where the best 
place to "get a line on" was, and everywhere 
there was jubilation that the ship was going 
into action. When the bugle blew for star- 
board guns to prepare, there was a growl of 
disgust from the men on the port side, and 



SCHLET 216 

when Lieutenant-Commander Mason ordered 
the men at the one-pounder and Colt rapid-fire 
guns to get out of their exposed positions there 
was almost rebellion. So these men hung 
about on the decks, and watched the effects of 
the gunnery of the American ships. They 
would cheer well-placed shells and laugh 
uproariously or jeer when a shell from the 
forts went over their heads or struck short. 
This lack of fear is a curious thing in battle. 

Admiral Sampson's plan of fight that morn- 
ing was an interesting one and evidently, if 
such things can be pre-judged, an effective one. 
The vessels standing out six miles from the 
fortifications were to move in in two columns 
directly toward the entrance. To the west 
were the Brooklyn, the Marblehead, the Texas, 
and the Massachusetts. To the east were the 
New York, the Yankee, the New Orleans, the 
Iowa, and the Oregon. As flanking vessels 
enfilading from each side were the Vixen, the 
Suwanee, the Dolphin, and the Porter. The 
ships moved in to a range of about 3,500 yards 
and at 7:41 o'clock the Iowa fired the first shot. 
Commodore Schley stood on the bridge of the 
Brooklyn and watched one of the eight-inch 



AND SANTIAGO 217 

turret guns fire the next shot, but the smoke 
rising very thickly from the forward guns, he 
went down on the forward deck and stood on 
the side of the conning tower exposed to the 
enemy during the remainder of the bombard- 
ment. 

The enemy had instantly returned the first 
shots fired, and we were filled with amazement 
when we noticed that in their endeavor to use 
muzzle-loading guns, although every ship in 
this large squadron was firing at them, they 
had the temerity and the heroism to get up on 
the parapets of their earthworks and load the 
cannon. Commodore Schley standing and 
watching them through his glasses, acted like 
a great boy over it. As a big shell from the 
Texas fell under the parapet of La Socapa 
and lifted earth, debris, and men up in a 
swirling heap, he pointed enthusiastically 
toward them and exclaimed, "Those fellows 
have got sand. They have the proper spirit." 

For three-quarters of an hour this fleet of 
thirteen vessels fired almost continuously at the 
earthworks, but with the exception of a couple 
of good shots from the Texas, seemed to do 
very little harm. This was not very surprising 



SCHLET 218 

considering that we did not know the exact 
height of the Morro, and that we were firing 
at earthworks about 210 feet high, such an 
angle of elevation for shells to reach that 
frequently, even if the shell struck the par- 
apet, because of the angle at which it was mov- 
ing there was behind that parapet a line of 
safety of fully 500 yards. 

These earthworks, as we afterward discov- 
ered, were beautifully constructed, the base 
being formed of barrels of cement which had 
been wet down and, therefore, solidified, faced 
with many feet of sand toward the water side, 
and in a number of places sodded, so that the 
missiles, being base contact shells, would eight 
cases out of ten slide up the hillside and, losing 
their momentum, fail to explode. 

At 8:22 Admiral Sampson ordered the fleet 
to cease firing, and immediately following 
came the further order, "Move in a little 
closer." We moved in to 3,000 yards and at 
8:30 o'clock opened fire again. Almost the first 
shot fired by Captain Clark's ship — the Ore- 
gon — struck a blockhouse on a western hill and 
set fire to it. The battery on the west at about 
the same time ceased firing and the battery on 



AND SANTIAGO 219 

the east simply kept up a spasmodic sort of 
answer at very great intervals. 

At ten minutes after nine Commodore Schley 
being notified by Captain Cook that the ship 
not being under way had swung around so that 
her port batteries were coming into play, 
ordered the helm starboarded, and the bugle 
sounded for port batteries to open fire. It was 
an inspiring sight to see the men on the port 
sied, who had been unable so far to take part 
in the combat rush to their guns with a cheer, 
eager to show their ability, and it was equally 
as encouraging to hear Commodore Schley say 
as he watched them, "They are the bullies who 
will settle the fate of the Spanish fleet." 

After twenty-four minutes of firing the Mas- 
sachusetts signaled that so far as she could see 
we were wasting ammunition by firing any 
longer, because the batteries were apparently 
silenced, and at 10:05 the fleet withdrew. 
During this bombardment there had hardly 
been anything in the fleet that might be called 
even an incident. A small projectile had 
shortened the military mast of the Massachu- 
setts, and a shell from a mortar had exploded 
harmlessly over the Suwanee. There were 



SCHLET 220 

indications that the Texas had landed a 
couple of shots that might have injured the bat- 
teries, but with the aid of the glasses we could 
discover no serious embrasures, although we 
had expended $25,000 worth of ammunition, 
and no more information was obtained than 
that which Commodore Schley had secured on 
May 31st. 

Some insurgents who came aboard that night 
informed me that we had killed over 300 
Spaniards, but this, like all other information ^ 
obtained from the Cubans, was absolutely unre- j 
liable, as it was proven later that two or three ' 
deaths were the extent of damage by our fire 
that day. 

Notwithstanding the fact that these bom- 
bardments appeared to have little visible out- 
ward, effect. Admiral Sampson continued them 
at intervals of four or five days with the evident 
admirable purpose of keeping the enemy 
apprised of the fact that we had plenty of 
ammunition and that our gunnery was fairly 
accurate. Indeed, we had taken ammunition 
from ships sent down with that commodity, and 
these bombardments kept the Spaniards from 
attempting to fortify in any new particulars, 



AND SANTIAGO 221 

and also forbade them resurrecting the Merri- 
mac, from the wreck of which they might have 
obtained many tons of coal. 

Sometimes we knew that we had killed men 
on the batteries, because when we had finished 
bombarding and had moved out, we would see 
the vultures circling round and swooping down 
to the places where they could smell the blood 
of our enemies. One day, in fact, we saw an 
officer, sword in hand, running along the par- 
apet of La Socapa, evidently urging his men 
to get up on the earthworks and load the 
muzzle-loading pieces. Finally, we could see 
six or eight of them like ants crawling about 
the mouths of the old cannon, and evidently 
cleaning and loading them. Suddenly the 
Texas let fly a twelve-inch shell, and it struck 
the earth just below the busy Spaniards, almost 
on the crest of the embankment, and took that 
crest with its human freight up in the air like 
so many atoms, as it exploded. The cloud of 
dust settled, but we saw no human activity. 
A little later, however, when we moved out to 
our position in line we saw the flag go at half 
mast. 

Just to the east of the Morro there was 



SCHLET 222 

quite a modern lighthouse, thirty or forty feet 
high, and there is a sort of international agree- 
ment that forbids the destruction of light- 
houses; but during one of the bombardments 
an eight-inch shell struck this lighthouse, 
undoubtedly accidentally, and took one-half of 
it away, riddling the remainder with pieces of 
the exploded shell. 

In all, between the time that Admiral Samp- 
son arrived and the day the decisive battle of 
Santiago was fought, there were fivej^ombard- 
ments by the fleet and one or two smaller 
movements such as the demonstration at 
Guantanamo when the marines landed, at 
Daiquiri when the troops landed, and at 
Altares and Aguadores where there were small 
fortifications. 

One of the bombardments was particularly 
interesting because while the fleet had been 
ordered by Admiral Sampson not to fire at the 
Morro where it was supposed Hobson and his 
men were confined. Captain Clark's beautiful 
Oregon took a pot shot at it one day and 
knocked the Spanish flag down. It was a particu- 
larly pretty sight. The protected cruisers, the 
New York and the Brooklyn, and the battleship 



AND SANTIAGO 223 

Iowa, which had some trouble with her big 
guns, moved out of the line, while the Oregon, 
Indiana, and Texas moved in. The fort on the 
west side opened fire on them, and while the 
little Texas vigorously replied to it the Oregon 
suddenly fired a thirteen-inch shell, which 
struck full on the parapet, just below the flag, 
demolishing the corner and bringing the Span- 
ish red and yellow down in the debris. 

One day the commander-in-chief moved down 
to a little bay called Aguadores, where a stone 
fort commanded a railroad trestle, and for a 
few minutes two or three of the big ships 
bombarded this place, finally silencing it. 
But to the disgust of everybody, the Spanish 
red and yellow still flew from the flag-staff. 
Lieutenant-Commander Daniel Delehanty, in 
charge of the converted lighthouse tender 
Suwanee, signaled to Admiral Sampson and 
asked permission to knock down the Spanish 
flag. His boat wasn't bigger than "a pint of 
cider, ' ' but it flew an enormous flag and carried 
on its bow a four-inch gun. To his query 
Admiral Sampson answered, noticing the dis- 
tance at which he was lying from the fort, 
"Yes, if you can do it in three shots." 



SCHLET 224 

The Suwanee was moved in to about 1,600 
yards and Lieutenant Blue, who was in charge 
of the gun, and Lieutenant-Commander Dele- 
hanty took their time and with great care 
prepared for their shots. 

The crews of the ships gathered to watch 
the incident amid intense excitement. When 
the smoke of the Suwanee's first shot cleared 
away only two red streamers of the flag were 
left. The shell had gone through the center 
of the bunting. A delighted yell broke from 
the crew of the Suwanee. 

Two or three minutes later the Suwanee fired 
again and a huge cloud of debris rose from the 
base of the flag-staff. For a few seconds it was 
impossible to tell what the effect of the shot 
had been. Then it was seen that the shell had 
but added to the ruin of the fort. The flag-staff 
seemed to have a charmed existence, and the 
Suwanee had only one chance left. It seemed 
hardly possible for her to achieve her object 
with the big gun, such a distance and such a 
tiny target. 

There was breathless silence among the 
watching crews. They crowded on the ships' 
decks and all eyes were on the tattered rag. 




Copyright, 1902, by \V. B. Conkey Company. 

" The Brooklyn and Oregon were bow and quarter''' 
(xxi) 



AND SANTIAGO 225 

bending toward the earth, but only bending, 
not yet down. 

Lieutenant-Commander Delehanty took his 
time. The Suwanee changed her position 
sHghtly. Then a puff of smoke shot out from 
her side, up went a spouting cloud of debris 
from the parapet and down went the banner of 
Spain amid the dust. The Suwanee's last shot 
had struck right at the base of the flag-staff 
and had blown it clear of the wreckage which 
had held it from finishing its fall. "Well 
done, ' ' signaled Admiral Sampson to Lieuten- 
ant-Commander Delehanty, and the little ship 
with its doughty commander moved up the line 
amidst the cheers of the rest of the fleet. 

It is a curious thing that in all the bombard- 
ments, watching the men closely, there was no 
indication that they had any fear whatever of 
the effects of Spanish gunnery. The effect of 
a bombardment is peculiarly exhilarating. 

True, everybody has a curl'ous sensation as , 
the first few shells of the enemy whistle over- I 
head, and when one strikes, with its frightful 
explosion, you look around anxiously for an 
instant. If the smoke is cleared from your 
ship you will see a puff of smoke from a battery 

15 



SCHLET 226 

ashore. Then, just as 3^ou have forgotten the 
smoke, about three seconds later, you hear a 
sound like a swarm of bees humming over 
your head. Pretty soon the shells begin to 
come faster and faster. They drop in the 
water on both sides of you. One hits the mili- 
tary mast, and the debris of steel and rope and 
wood comes tumbling about you. You look 
up wonderingly, but give it merely an instant's 
thought. Then your mind reverts to the ter- 
rible roar of your own guns, and then comes 
the single idea of keeping outside the radius of 
fire, not of the enemy's guns, but those on 
your own ship, equally dangerous to your safety, 
the preservation of your ear-drums and your 
life. 

I stood by^ Commodore Schley's side, with 
Flag-Lieutenant Scars, during the two first 
bombardments of Santiago, and we all found 
ourselves absolutely forgetful of peril, watching 
the shots from different turrets and telling the 
gunners whether to depress or raise the muzzle 
of the gun. We kept accurately the times of 
all movements, of opening fire, of good shots, 
of silenced batteries, and of "cease firing." 
The balls whistled about with a nasty whine. 



AND SANTIAGO 227 

as if they deplored not being able to hit us, 
but half the time the roar of the fusilade of 
our own ships drowned the complaint of the 
enemy's missiles. You experienced at first a 
strange feeling of enjoyment not unmixed with 
terror. Then you grew animated and discovered 
a peculiar sort of charm in the danger and in 
the game of life or death. You found yourself 
hoping the shells would strike closer to you. 
You looked around at the careless, laugh- 
ing, enthusiastic men, and believed, with Tol- 
stoi, that "consciousness is annihilated. At the 
bottom of each soul there lies that noble spark 
which makes of each man a hero; but this 
spark wearies- of burning clearly, and when the 
fateful moment comes, it flashes up into a flame 
and illuminates great deeds." 

During the second engagement, while a hot 
fire was being poured at the Brooklyn, which 
seemed to be the target for the Spanish, Flag- 
Lieutenant Sears, who had gone into battle in 
white clothes, which by reason of the rain 
became very much bedraggled, said: "My 
wife wants a picture of me in fighting clothes, j 
Will you take one?" and when I assented he 
stood up in photographic pose, and I "snapped" 



SCHLET 228 

him. A shell exploding just then might have 
ruined the picture. 

During all these bombardments but one acci- 
dent occurred to the American fleet, for pure 
accident it seemed to be that a Spanish shell 
should hit one of our vessels. On Wednesday, 
the 22d of June, when the Texas was enfilading 
the western battery, a shell from a six-inch gun 
on the La Socapa battery entered her gun-deck, 
sped between two gun crews who were firing, 
struck and cut in two a four-inch stanchion 
supporting her deck, and then exploded, killing 
one man and wounding eight on the side 
opposite from that on which she was firing, 
men who were practically not in the fight. 

During the five bombardments the fleet 
expended over $2,000,000 worth of ammuni- 
tion< absolutely harmless in its effect so far as 
the reduction of the batteries was concerned, 
although it may have given the Spaniards a 
wholesome respect for our marksmanship and 
our plentitude of ammunition. 

Commodore Schley, in company with several 
officers, visited the fortifications, making a two 
days' survey of them just after the surrender, 
and found that they were perfectly habitable 



AND SANTIAGO 229 

despite the fierce bombardments of the Amer- 
ican fleet. 

Landing at the foot of the Morro the party 
made the 210 feet of ascent with some diffi- 
culty. The path was strewn with ammunition, 
boxes containing thousands of Mauser rifles 
lying all about. At the foot of the hill to the 
rear of the Morro where the path of ascent 
began, was a well-built and equipped electric 
station from which to set off the mines in the 
harbor entrance. Concealed partially- behind 
a bluff the operator in this house got a clear 
look at the angle on which the mines controlled 
by his key lay. Near him were telephones 
connecting with a similar house on the opposite 
shore. When a ship crossed his line of vision 
he pressed down a button that connected with 
the mine, but it did not explode. When, 
however, it crossed the vision of the man 
opposite he pressed the other connecting the 
circuit and a ship on the angle of these two 
sights received the bombs, Lieutenant-Com- 
mander Delehanty was removing the electrical 
mines and their location proved that it would 
have been impossible for the fleet to enter the 
harbor without losing some ships. Lieutenant- 



SCHLET 230 

Commander Delehanty said that the electrical 
mines contained 200 pounds of gun-cotton or 
more than four times the ordinary amount. 

Arriving on the hilltop the party proceeded 
at once to the eastern battery, where a great 
surprise awaited them. There was the battery, 
close to the Morro, which the commander of 
the Suwanee had reported to Admiral Sampson 
as containing several very dangerous and large 
modern guns and against which Admiral Samp- 
son had four times massed the flower of the fleet, 
the New York, Oregon, Iowa, Scorpion, Massa- 
chusetts, and Gloucester, and sometimes the 
Indiana. In rudely constructed earthworks 
but with excellent and deep run-ways for the 
gunners to bring ammunition, or seek for shel- 
ter, were four muzzle-loading bronze cannon 
and two cast-iron eight-inch mortars. They 
were brave men who stood upon the parapets 
to load these cannon and mortars, and under 
a heavy fire it is not wonderful that they did 
not answer with much celerity. The cannons 
were very handsome old pieces, cast in 1737 
and named after prominent Spaniards. The 
mortars were dated 1895 and were cast at 
Havana. They had no sighting arrangement 



AND SANTIAGO 



231 



and pointed only in one direction, so that 
unless a ship entered their zone they were not 
dangerous. There were two little three- 
pounders, field-pieces, but they were evidently 
brought to repel an expected land invasion. 
On the Morro itself were two bronze cannons 
of the same make and several old-fashioned 
small mortars. There were plenty of explosives 
but of the old-fashioned kind, the bombs having 
wooden plugs and time fuses. 

Although our fleet had bombarded this place 
four times, and the New Orleans once, there 
was little damage done except the dismounting 
of an old gun, the destruction of the lighthouse 
and a small frame house near. The shells 
landed between the house and the lighthouse 
and tore up a great hole, completely demol- 
ished the house, leaving but a pile of debris and 
tore out the side of the lighthouse. The gun 
near by had evidently been wrecked by the 
concussion. Large quantities of broken Amer- 
ican shells could be found about and quite a 
number of big shells that had not exploded 
were gathered up and grouped together by the 
Spaniards. The majority of the shells landed 
in the earthworks just below the crest of the 



SCHLET 232 

hill, showing that the Americans fired well, but 
outside of ploughing up the earth there was 
no result. When the projectiles hit any build- 
ings they created great havoc, and traces of 
many were visible on the Morro and some of 
the officers' quarters, where immense gaping 
holes were torn in the stone work. The draw- 
bridge was shot away and one tower was crum- 
bling to pieces from the effects of a thirteen- 
inch shell from the Oregon. 

Coming down from Morro, which at the best 
is a tumbling, dirty ruin, with no touch of 
the modern upon it, the party stopped at the 
Estrella and Catalina batteries which had been 
visible just inside Morro point on the east. It 
was discovered that Catalina was a decaying 
ruin without a gun, and that and Estrella, an 
old-time brick fort, had but two mortars, only 
one of which was full}^ in place. A large amount 
of ammunition, however, filled a house in this 
battery. A large shell had struck the rock just 
above the place and knocked down a big 
section that almost filled the magazine and 
otherwise wrecked the building. 

The second day was devoted to an inspec- 
tion of the western battery which had mainly 




Copyright, 1902, by W. B. Conkey Company. 

'''Don't throw that body overboard'' 
(xxii) 



AND SANTIAGO 233 

been attended to by the Brooklyn, Texas, and 
Vixen. While these ships did no more damage 
to the earthworks on the west than did the other 
ships on the east, it was quite apparent where 
the vigorous answers came from, one of which 
hit and killed a man on the Texas and wounded 
many and kept up a fusilade against the 
Brooklyn. The earthworks on this battery 
were very similar to those on the east, but 
there were two six-inch and four ten-inch Hon- 
toria rifles with breech-loading mechanism and 
steel shields. These guns were quick-fire and 
easily trained and very formidable. They were 
supposed to be part of the main battery of the 
Reina Mercedes. There were also two large 
mortars similar to those on the eastern battery. 
There were over 300 rounds of ammunition for 
the modern guns. Just below this battery on 
the hillside was a twelve-pounder rapid-fire gun 
with plenty of ammunition for it. Punta 
Gorda, directly to the north of this battery, had 
two large ship guns, which, in addition to firing 
into the harbor, ^could fire directly over the 
western battery at the ships. 

Going down the side of the hill toward the 
bay a newly-made cemetery was found, 



SCHLET 234 

enclosed in a barbed wire fence and with a 
dozen or more newly-made graves in it, sur- 
mounted by a large, black wooden cross. The 
graves were evidently those of sailors killed 
during bombardment. 



AND SANTIAGO 



^ZS 



THE BLOCKADE. XIV. 

THAT Admiral Sampson appreciated very 
directly the extreme difficulty of coaling 
at sea, which had confronted Commodore 
Schley, was evinced by the fact that, from the 
time of his arrival until June loth — during which 
time his fleet had a plentltuHe of coal— he 
made strenuous endeavors to find a place in a 
sheltered bay where the ships could, without 
opposition, replenish their bunkers. On the 
7th of June he sent the Marblehead to Guan- 
tanamo, forty miles to the east, to see if she 
could find a place in the harbor for the ships. 
She ran in the bay and was shot at by a Span- 
ish gunboat which she chased up stream. 

In the meantime 30,(X)0 rounds of ammuni- 
tion had been sent to the insurgents ashore, and 
this, it was supposed, would enable the Cubans 
to assist us in obtaining landing places. On the 
loth the converted boat Panther arrived with 
600 marines and joined the fleet off Santiago. 



SCHLET 236 

That night there were two incidents that were 
almost turned into accidents. The Scorpion 
saw the Yankee, another of the converted Mor- 
gan liners, come through the line an(J signaled 
her. She did not answer the signal, and the 
Scorpion fired upon her. * A little later, while 
the Scorpion was scouting around the line, 
she was run into by the Panther and there was 
a great deal of excitement, but luckily neither 
incident proved an accident. 

On the afternoon of June loth Admiral Samp- 
son ordered the Panther to Guantanamo in 
company with the Texas and the Marblehead, 
with an order to land her marines and take 
possession of the place, so that the warships 
could coal there. The transport arrived there 
late that night and succeeded in putting the 
marines ashore. On the afternoon of the i ith, 
however, just as the marines had established a 
camp and while a majority of them, fatigued 
and heated from the day's work, were bathing 
in the surf, they were attacked by 3,000 Span- 
iards. It was an exciting and terrible scene. 
The majority of the marines were in the water, 
and, hearing the splash of the bullets around 
them, supposed at first that their own men were 



AND SANTIAGO 237 

engaged in target practice. But almost in an 
instant they were undeceived, and rushing up 
to their tents and grasping their rifles, they 
found themselves in a nearly hand-to-hand con- 
flict with the Dons, and the odds five to one 
against them. The Marblehead and the Texas 
saw the attack and promptly opened with their 
rapid-fire guns. The result was that the Span- 
iards were repulsed with heavy loss, killing 
sixty-eight of the men; while only one officer 
and three men of the Marine Corps were killed. 
They were Dr. John Blair Gibbs of New York, 
Sergeant Charles H. Smith of Maryland, and 
Privates William Dunphy and James McColgan 
of Massachusetts. Several others were 
wounded, but in the face of great difficulties, 
with the enemy doing bush-whacking fighting, 
the very superior force of the Spaniards was 
routed. A great deal of aid was given to the 
American marines by the marines on the Mar- 
blehead, commanded by Captain McCalla. 
These marines went ashore and assisted those 
from the Panther in making their fight. 

On Sunday, June'"'i2th, a detachment of 
Spanish troops marched over across country to 
a bluff just opposite Camp McCalla and opened 



SCHLET 238 

fire on the marines and on the vessels in the 
bay. The Texas moved up into the harbor and 
fired a few explosive shells among them, which 
soon drove them away. The Texas returned to 
the fleet and notified Admiral Sampson of the 
menace which this Guantanamo fort presented, 
and she was ordered to immediately return, 
together with the Suwanee, and destroy the 
fort and, if possible, the Spanish gunboats in 
the harbor. Captain Jack Philip went down, 
and taking command of an expedition com- 
posed of the Texas, the Marblehead, and the 
Suwanee, cleaned the place out — the Suwanee 
practically going in to a hand-to-hand conflict 
with the troops ashore and driving the gunners 
away from their cannon. 

During the engagement, while forcing the 
entrance, the Texas and the Marblehead each 
picked up in their propellers mines loaded with 
gun-cotton, but fortunately neither exploded 
and, like Dewey's vessels in Manila bay, the 
ships escaped any damage by torpedoes. 

The other incidents which varied the monot- 
ony of our five weeks' blockade of the harbor 
of Santiago, besides this locating of the coaling 
place and the landing of the marines, were the 



AND SANTIAGO 239 

landing of the troops at Daiquiri, with an 
accompanying demonstration at Juragua, and 
the sending of the coaling ships to a place a 
few miles west of the entrance of Santiago, as 
if they were seeking a landing place. 

Prior to these movements the Cuban pilot, 
sent by Commodore Schley to investigate the 
position of the Spanish ships in the harbor, had 
returned and had been sent to Admiral Samp- 
son to report that the Spanish squadron, almost 
in its entirety, the torpedo boat Terror having 
been detached, was in the harbor of Santiago. 
He brought with him a map drawn by a Cuban 
spy in the city of Santiago, and giving the 
position of each Spanish vessel. 

The troops had arrived on the morning of 
June 20th, and we had seen the transports 
come along by the squadron at an early hour 
in charge of the battleship Indiana. 

On June 19th, in anticipation of the arrival 
of these same troops, it was decided by Admiral 
Sampson and Commodore Schley that there 
should be communication with General Garcia, 
who was supposed to be some thirty miles to 
the west of Santiago with his army, asking him 
if he did not desire to come to the east and 



SCHLET 240 

form a junction of forces with the American 
troops when they landed. On the morning of 
the 19th the Vixen was dispatched to Asser- 
redoros, a point seventeen miles west of Santi- 
ago, carrying Sampson's chief-of-staff and me. 
Commodore Schley had agreed that I should 
be his personal representative in the matter 
and Lieutenant-Commander Sharpe of the 
Vixen had volunteered to take me. 

We went up to camp early in the morning, the 
expedition returning in the afternoon because 
of the fact that General Garcia had not yet 
arrived, although we had a ver}^ pleasant visit 
with General Jesus Rabi. I preferred not to 
return with the expedition, but stayed over 
night in Rabi's camp, having been assured by 
the officers under him that I would be perfectly 
safe after they had taken in their personal care 
all of my valuables. I saw nothing particularly 
harrowing, except that my innate modesty was 
somewhat shocked at a comparative nudity 
that did not seem to worry the native. I was 
out on the picket-line, and saw Spanish sol- 
diers very closely, but they did not fire. The 
country was not picturesque, nor were the 
camps, except the palm-thatched retreats of 





Copyright, 1902, by W. B. Conkey Company. 

''''The flag was almost shot away' 
(xxiii) 



AND SANTIAGO 241 

the officers. Everything was dirty. Enter- 
prising American soap manufacturers could 
have obtained splendid advertisements by 
cleaning the Cuban army — officers and men 
alike — and having pictures of "before and 
after" used as illustrations. 

There were no beautiful sunsets or brilliant 
sunrises while I was off Cuba. It is a peculiar 
feature of the Cuban landscape that night suc- 
ceeds day without any picturesque displays of 
color, and so suddenly that there is nothing 
that can be called twilight. In the same way 
the sun comes up in the morning with a shoot, 
and by the time you get it through your head 
that the sun is up you also discover that it 
is red hot. Everything is absolutely monot- 
onous, and you long for the changes in 
atmosphere and color and temperature that 
come with varied life in the North. The only 
bits of color I saw were on a couple of nasty 
chattering paroquets who woke me early the 
morning I was at the insurgents' camp. 

The officers I met with were a very good- 
looking lot of men and many of them well 
educated and able to speak English. Garcia 
himself was a splendid specimen of manhood. 

16 



SCHLET 242 

Fifty-eight years old, straight and dignified of 
carriage and courteous, he was a splendid type 
of the commander in the field. General Rabi 
was black and did not speak English, but was 
a fine soldier and a true patriot. But the rank 
and file! In Garcia's army were some very 
good-looking soldiers, but in Rabi's army were 
some villainous-looking faces. Patriots! Oh, 
yes, but on either side of the fence. If the 
Spanish had treated them well they would have 
fought for Spain. As it didn't, they fought 
with the few patriotic Cubans because they 
managed to get enough to eat and could lounge 
and sleep in some sort of security. There was 
one thing, however, that was remarkable, and 
that was the wonderful control that the men in 
command had over the forces. Where the 
officer] led the men followed, and followed to 
the death. 

When I started on the Vixen I carried a 
camera, a pair of field-glasses, and a revolver. 
From the boat, which could not be induced 
to run up far on the beach, I was carried 
ashore by a burly Cuban, to whom I after- 
ward presented a cigarette and a cake of soap. 
A lieutenant-colonel afterward relieved him 



AND SANTIAGO 243 

of the soap, and he did not raise much objec- 
tion, but refused to give up the cigarette. I 
got some of the men to group themselves, and 
then I took a picture. A couple of generals, 
two or three colonels, and I know not how 
many majors, greeted me and got me with 
much difficulty on the back of a mule, after 
which interesting operation we started for 
General Rabi's camp. The men ahead of me 
rode quite rapidly, but my mule persisted in 
walking, and the wicked way he put his ears 
back when I thumped his side made me not 
eager to go faster. The stirrups were made 
for a man with long legs, and I couldn't sit 
down with comfort for some time after. A pair 
of spurs might have helped me, but I forbore 
asking when I noticed that two generals had 
one pair between them. 

When we got into camp General Rabi 
received me with much courtesy and gave me 
his general idea of the strength of the Santiago 
forts and the plans we hoped to follow in land- 
ing the army. The next day I went to Gen- 
eral Garcia's camp and passed an interesting 
hour with him, discussing the plans of cam- 
paign. We sipped at delicious coffee, had plain 



SCHLET 244 

but substantial meals, and altogether a pleas- 
ant time. I listened intently for the "ping" of 
Spanish bullets and the rush of a Spanish 
charge, but they did not come. Perhaps I was 
not as fortunate as the rest of my newspaper 
brethren, who enjoyed such thrilling experi- 
ences, but I took comfort in General Garcia's 
statement that such attacks were very rare 
unless the Cubans attacked first. 

The morning following the night that I spent 
in camp, in accordance with an idea expressed 
by Commodore Schley that I should obtain if 
possible an accurate idea of the Spanish ships 
in the harbor, I asked General Garcia to give 
me two guides so that I might go up to an 
advantageous point on the high hill and over- 
look the harbor. He was rather skeptical 
about my obtaining a view of the ships, but he 
gave me the guides and I started out. I didn't 
see any Spanish, and I didn't see any ships; 
for, as I learned afterward, my Cuban guides, 
thoroughly comprehending that I did not under- 
stand the points of the compass, had walked 
me around in a circle, not taking me near the 
crest of the hill where there were supposed 
to be some Spanish blockhouses. General 



AND SANTIAGO 245 

Garcia, however, relieved my vexation that 
afternoon by showing me a map of the harbor 
upon which was marked the position of the 
various ships drawn by a Cuban spy in Santi- 
ago city, and a copy of which had been given 
to our Cuban pilot to take back to Admiral 
Sampson. It appeared to me, therefore, that 
there was no necessity for my investigating the 
matter any further, and I have not yet been 
able to understand why Admiral Sampson 
found it necessary to send Lieutenant Blue in 
for later information. 

General Garcia went down with us that 
afternoon to meet Admiral Sampson, taking 
with him the principal members of his staff, 
and a sicker lot of men I never saw aboard 
ship. There was a heavy roll on that day, and 
the little Vixen kept ploughing her nose into 
it and twirling and twisting in the most aggra- 
vating way. General Garcia and his officers 
were very greatly distressed, and by the time 
we arrived alongside the New York they were 
so ill that they had serious trouble in climbing 
up the sea ladders to the ship's deck. 

General Garcia told me on the way down 
that he did not agree with the plan proposed to 



SCHLET 246 

him by Admiral Sampson's chief-of-staff to 
bring all his troops from the west to the assist- 
ance of the American army on the east. He 
was of the opinion that some of the troops on 
the northern coast of Cuba were crossing over 
to aid in the defense of Santiago, and he 
believed that his guerrilla style of warfare, 
which consisted in holding the passable roads 
which an army would naturally have to follow 
in approaching the besieged city, would 
undoubtedly prohibit their accomplishing their 
object. Garcia said that he had told this to 
Admiral Sampson's chief-of-staff, but the latter 
had pooh-poohed at it. I did not tell him that 
this was the usual style of the arrogant gentle- 
man who occupied that office, and whose 
superior wisdom found insurmountable barriers 
for every plan suggested by any person other 
than himself to his immediate superior. 

General Laura, chief-of-division for General 
Garcia, told me that he had some 4,500 men 
back in the country about forty-live miles by 
road from Santiago. There were also about 
3,000 men, he said, in General Rabi's division, 
and all of these 7,500 men were well supplied 
with ammunition and clothing. I do not think 



AND SANTIAGO 247 

he appreciated that I had been in Jesus Rabi's 
camp the night before and that I had particu- 
larly noticed their lack of clothes and also lack 
of ammunition. All of these Cuban officers 
seemed to have that spirit of exaggeration that 
forbade them giving accurate information to 
our officers. There were possibly all told in 
Rabi's camp, so far as I could observe, not 
over 2,000 people, and of these at least 300 
were women and children. They were only half 
clothed, and I am positive they did not have 
sufficient ammunition, because they tried to 
deplete my cartridge belt, urging that I could 
obtain a new supply when I went back aboard 
ship. As to their provisions, I do not know 
much. My breakfast consisted that morning 
of some baked yams, dried bananas, and a cup 
of very excellent coffee. I did not see any meat 
in camp, and from the way those of Garcia's 
officers who were not ill attacked the steak on 
the Vixen at dinner that afternoon, I imagine 
that there was not a plentitude of that article. 
When General Garcia arrived at the New 
York Admiral Sampson detailed his idea already 
promulgated by his chief-of-staff, that the 
Cuban army should be brought down to oper- 



SCHLET 248 

ate in conjunction with the American troops. 
General Garcia did not acquiesce, and that 
night went back to his position with the troops, 
after expressing the hope that he would be per- 
mitted to make an attack on the western side 
of Santiago at the same time the American 
troops were attacking the eastern and northern 
ends. 

In the meantime we had received our first 
indication of how things were going ashore by 
the interception of a letter from the general in 
command of the division about Guantanamo, 
giving the details of our success in that locality, 
and the serious straits to which their forces 
were reduced. The letter is here used to show 
how brave these Spaniards were, even under 
extremely discouraging and disheartening cir- 
cumstances, and as also displaying the heroic 
impudence of the American forces, which was 
particularly noticed by the Spaniards: 

Excellent Sir: The seventh day, at dawn, 
brought seven ships before the port of Caiman- 
era. They fired grapeshot and all kinds of 
projectiles on the Playa del Este and Cayo 
Toro until they set lire to the fort on the Playa 
Este and burning the houses of the pilots 
which the detachment occupied. This lasted, 



AND SANTIAGO 249 

cannonading with more or less intensity, until 
five o'clock in the afternoon. 

As the Playa del Este had only two muzzle- 
loading guns and sand intrenchments, the 
detachment could do nothing before six ships 
firing on them from all sides. They retired 
into Manigua and to the Cuzco Hill, where 
they remain to-day making sallies on the beach. 

From that day 150 men occupy Punta Cara- 
colas observing the movements of ships which 
occupy all the outer port with a transport of 
war and a variable number of armed ships and 
other vessels of war and armed merchant ships, 
total never less than four. 

I have also taken Enanto Passes and the 
vigilant Magne, which is disposed to fall on 
them where damage can be done. 

I remain in Caimanera and will only come to 
the Enanto when I think it necessary, as to- 
day. I have not been able to antagonize the 
American ships with rifle fire, no known ground 
being at hand. Yesterday the captain of 
engineers ordered to make safe protections that 
would impede and to make them low. The 
ground of Playa Este is better for this purpose. 
I refer solely to disembarkation. Dia F. San- 
doval and Cayo Toro fired with their artillery, 
being impeded with their short range, when the 
ships retired to the center of the channel and 
took positions in the middle of the bay, or they 
would not have stopped answering the fire 
which the enemy's ships were keeping up with 
impunity. Sandoval has not over seven dis- 
charges of piercing projectiles, and Caimanera 
battery did not fire, reserving fire until the ships 
entered the channel, which is where their guns 



SCHLET 250 

reached. I am told that the insurgent forces 
at Baracao have come down to Siguabos, their 
increased happiness being noticed, and Palamar, 
and I do not know more. 

The American squadron, in possession of the 
outer bay, has taken it as if for a harbor of 
rest; they have anchored as if in one of their 
own ports since the 7th, the day they cut the 
cables, in the entrance and center of the 
harbor. I not being able to reach them, they 
have not again molested me, except with two 
cannon shots on the 8th. It appears from the 
work that is being done that they are preparing 
to plant the harbor with mines, or place their 
ships for disembarkation at Playa del Este, 
their favorite place. If it is the first, I call 
your attention to it in case that some time our 
squadron should come here. The forces of 
the brigade are in good spirits. I continue 
serving out half rations of everything, and in 
that way I expect to reach only the end of the 
month, above all in bread, as I have no flour 
of any kind, as I said, and no way of getting 
any on account of there having been no corn 
tor some time. Quinine for the hospitals the 
same. In hard straits I have taken private 
drug stores, and will have enough until the end 
of the month. Town in needful circumstances, 
first need since the 2d ultimo. On the 7th we 
had only two wounded at Cayo Toro. The 
cable house, riddled with shell, still stands, and 
if Americans abandon port, which I doubt, 
everything possible will be done to re-establish 
communication, to which end I have every- 
thing ready. 

To-day there is in the harbor a large 



AND SANTIAGO 251 

armored vessel and seven more vessels, with 
a large transport that appears to be a store- 
ship. They patrol Playa del Este with armed 
launches, I have just been informed. 

I return to Caimanera on seeing the carrier 
of this start out, he meriting confidence as a 
trusty of the brigade, having rendered me good 
services up to date. By sea I have ready a 
youth that served in the navy and who offered 
himself spontaneously. I actively recommend 
him to your excellency should he arrive. 

Felix Pareja. 



SCHLET 252 



THE TROOPS ARRIVE. XV. 

EARLY on the morning of the 20th we saw 
the arrival of the long-looked-for and 
expected fleet of transports, convoyed by the 
Indiana, the Detroit, the Bancroft, the Helena, 
the Annapolis, the Wasp, the Eagle, the Hor- 
net, the Osceola, and the Manning. When 
they were sighted the men of the fleet swarmed 
upon the decks of their ships, sending up cheer 
after cheer, because it was thoroughly believed 
that with the landing of these troops would 
come the end of the war, at least in that part 
of the island. 

Admiral Sampson and General Shafter had a 
conference to which Commodore Schley was 
not invited, and General Garcia was again 
sent for and told to make arrangements to 
bring his troops from Asscrrcdoros to Daiquiri, 
where the army was about to land. 

A very clever scheme of landing deceived the 
Spaniards. They were naturally watching out 



AND SANTIAGO 



253 



for the arrival of and the disembarking of 
American troops, and so it was ingeniously 
arranged that several demonstrations should be 
made in different localities along the coast. 
All day long the transports lay off the coast, 
rolling and tossing in the heavy sea and mak- 
ing life very miserable for the thousands of 
men crowded upon them, and who formed the 
army force for the attack on southern Cuba. 

At daylight on the morning of the 21st Gen- 
eral Castillo, who was to the east of Santiago 
with about 1,000 Cubans, began moving slowly 
up from Daiquiri toward Santiago to clear the 
way for an unopposed landing of the American 
troops. At the same. time the New Orleans, 
the Detroit, the Castine, and the Wasp began 
shelling the woods in the vicinity so as to drive 
out any Spaniards. Commodore Schley had 
sent from the Flying Squadron at four o'clock 
in the morning, so that they would arrive at 
Daiquiri by daylight, all of the steam launches 
and several of the large cutters from each ship. 
Simultaneously with the shelling of th&-beach 
at Daiquiri, the Eagle and the Gloucester began 
firing at a point near Aguadores; the Scorpion, 
Vixen, and Texas at Cabanas; and the Hornet, 



SCHLET 254 

Helena, and Bancroft at Altares, points a few 
miles east and west of the harbor entrance of 
Santiago. 

At the same time three or four of the colliers 
which accompanied the fleet were dispatched 
to Cabanas, about two and one-half miles to the 
westward of Santiago, and began lowering their 
boats as if intending to land a hostile force. 
Then at Daiquiri began the greatest hustle 
that probably ever occurred in the landing of 
troops, and it was a boat from Commodore 
Schley's ship, the Brooklyn, commanded by 
Naval-Cadet Haligan that reached the beach 
first and, landing her boat-load of American 
soldiers, was presented with a silk Cuban flag 
as a reward. 

The landing was successful in every respect, 
only two men being killed, and a few horses 
drowned by the upsetting of a boat. 

It was at two o'clock that morning when, 
under cover of the darkness, the work of lower- 
ing the boats from the New York, Texas, Mas- 
sachusetts, Iowa, Oregon, and Brooklyn began, 
the New York sending forty-eight men with 
her steam launch and cutters. 

A short time previous to the first movements 



AND SANTIAGO 255 

of preparation of the boats for landing, the 
Spaniards had been terrorized by the Vesuvius. 
She had crept up through the shadows along 
the eastern hills of Santiago harbor, and sud- 
denly the darkness was shattered by a blinding 
flash, followed by a heavy, coughing sigh, and 
then in about the neighborhood of the eastern 
battery there was crashing and rending of 
earth, timber, and stone, and we knew that 
a mighty shell filled with gun-cotton had 
exploded, leaving trepidation, if not devasta- 
tion, in its wake. Three times the Vesuvius 
shot forth her frightful warning, and then, 
while the western batteries fired a couple of 
shots in an endeavor to land a projectile among 
her terrible mass of gigantic explosives, she 
hurried back to the protection of the fleet. 

Captain Goodrich had the general charge of 
the landing. The fleet still lay at the regular 
blockading station, watching for Admiral 
Cervera, should he make a dash out. When the 
dawn broke the long line of transports was seen 
stretched out over the eastern horizon and 
fading toward Daiquiri. 

The Indiana was slowly coming into blockad- 
ing position at Daiquiri, and the New Orleans, 



SCHLET 256 

Detroit, Castine, and Wasp could be seen 
faintly. 

Shortly after six o'clock the New Orleans 
opened fire. An explosion occurred ashore and 
soon columns of smoke were seen ascending 
from Daiquiri, standing out cloudily against the 
green background of the rugged mountains 
that rise from the water's edge. The shell had 
evidently set the buildings on fire, but the thick 
haze of smoke and mist made it hard to see 
exactly what was occurring there. 

Before eight o'clock the Texas, keeping 
close inshore, proceeded to Cabanas, two and 
one-half miles west of El Morro, to make a feint 
at landing troops there. The transports which 
were to have accompanied the Texas were 
still far out of position. Suddenly a puff 
of, smoke shot out from the western battery, 
showing that the enemy was devoting attention 
to the Texas. The battleship replied promptly, 
firing at the western batteries with her twelve 
and six-inch guns and with her smaller guns at 
a blockhouse in a small inlet at Cabanas. 
For an hour the duel between the Texas and 
forts continued. 

The most spectacular event so far in the war 




>2 






a 



AND SANTIAGO 257 

it was. The marksmanship of the Texas was 
marvelous. Though over two miles away and 
in an awkward position, she dropped shell after 
shell right on the ridge of the hill where the 
enemy's guns lay. Clouds of yellow earth rose 
high into the air. 

The crew on the flagship greeted each of 
these with loud cheers. Puffs of white smoke 
shot through the yellow canyon. These were 
shots from the enemy. The Spanish stuck to 
their guns well, but their aim was wild, the 
shots falling some a mile ahead and some a mile 
astern of the Texas. Finally the enemy's 
shots became few and far between. They 
probably had been driven from their guns. All 
the other battleships of the United States Navy 
lay in a semi-circle watching the wonderful 
work of the Texas and not wishing to distract 
the enemy's attention from the successful feint. 

On land still further to the westward General 
Rabi with 500 Cubans was making a military 
demonstration to assist in causing the Span- 
iards to concentrate their troops to the west of 
Santiago. Meanwhile a lively naval attack 
was in progress east of the harbor of Aguadores, 
a village two or three miles east of El Morro. 

17 



SCHLET 258 

The Eagle and Gloucester commenced to fire 
at the blockhouses there shortly after eight 
o'clock. The bluff was peppered with the 
smoke clouds of their exploding shells. A few 
miles further to the east the Hornet, Helena, 
and Bancroft were in the picturesque harbor 
of Tusenada De Los Altares banging away at 
two blockhouses on the side of a hill which 
rose above the deserted village. The heavy 
swell caused these craft to roll considerably and 
the surf broke viciously against the rocks. The 
sun shone bright, a light breeze blew and the 
gunboats, half enveloped in white smoke, 
nestled in these fine harbors, forming a pictur- 
esque sight. They were feinting more than 
fighting. 

From Cabanas to Daiquiri, fourteen miles of 
coast, the ridge was dotted with the smoke of 
American shells. The battery west of El 
Morro was the only point where the enemy 
appeared to make any serious attempt to reply. 
The sharp reports of the batteries of the smaller 
boats filled the air, the echoes dying away into 
the great hills behind. A faint odor of salt- 
peter drifted out to sea. 

The officers and crews of the ships not en- 



AND SANTIAGO 259 

gaged watched the shore eagerly. At 10:30 the 
New York ran down from El Morro to Daiquiri, 
the real seat of operations. 

Just as she arrived the first boat-load of 
troops was landing at the iron company's 
wharf. 

The transports had been slow in coming up. 
When Admiral Sampson arrived the Suwanee, 
Detroit, and Wasp were banging away at a 
bluff to the west of Daiquiri, where the Spanish 
troops were believed to be in ambuscade. 

Around the wharf launches and boats were 
thickly clustered, some black with troops, 
others half empty and their former occupants 
climbing up like ants. The firing of the gun- 
boats was soon discontinued. Flames broke 
out where the shells had been directed and a 
long, low, white house was soon burned up. 
No shots were seen to come from any points 
on shore. 

The waters around Daiquiri were black with 
small craft of all sorts, plying quickly between 
the transports and the shore. Smoke curled 
up from various spots around the village, 
marking the fires caused by the shells. 

In the meantime every indication that came 



SCHLET 260 

from Santiago was to the effect that the Span- 
iards were getting very low in food supplies; 
that there was little, if any, coal to re-supply 
the warships, and that the Vesuvius, which had 
joined our fleet on the night of June 14th, was 
making it very unpleasant for them. She had 
been in every night for six nights and had 
dropped shells containing from fifty to one hun- 
dred pounds of gun-cotton, inside the harbor or 
up on the high hills. One of these shells had 
fallen very close to the torpedo boat Furor 
and had compelled her and the battleship 
Maria Teresa to change anchorage, for fear of 
total destruction, because, had one of these ter- 
rible charges dropped on the deck, it would have 
blown either ship apart. The hour for the Vesu- 
vius going in was generally fixed at eleven 
o'clock, and it would appear that this was rather 
a mistake for had she gone in at various hours 
of the nights in question she would have kept 
the Spanish so disturbed that they would have 
found sleep impossible, either on the fleet or 
in the city. However, she certainly did her 
share in putting them in a state of nervous 
anxiety from which it would appear they never 
fully recovered during the war. The terrible 



AND SANTIAGO 261 

power of a ship like the Vesuvius constructed 
on more practical lines cannot be imagined. 
The great trouble with this first dynamite 
cruiser was that instead of having range-find- 
ing guns, she fired her torpedoes from tubes 
buckled to her keel plate, which practically- 
made it impossible for her to train the guns in 
any direction except that in which the ship 
might be pointed. Some control of the dis- 
tance at which the shell could be fired was ob- 
tained by the reducing of the charge in the air 
flasks, the torpedoes being fired pneumatically, 
but the slightest swing of the boat in a heavy 
rolling sea naturally disarranged her aim to 
such an extent that it was almost impossible to 
reach a specific object. She would have been 
very much more effective had she had upon 
her deck dynamite guns of the Zalinski pattern 
which could have been trained in exactly the 
same manner as are the secondary battery 
guns on a warship. But one can imagine, per- 
haps, the terrible strain under which these 
people inside the harbor labored, when each 
night about the same hour, with terrified 
expectancy they awaited the fall of these pro- 
jectiles and the consequent earth-shaking 



SCHLET 262 

explosions. Those nearest the fleet would hear 
a sound like the coughing of a huge animal. 
That was the shell going from the gun. Then 
those ashore would hear a slight whizzing 
sound as the projectile displaced the air, and 
following that, as it struck the earth, the 
frightful noise and jar of its explosion. Tons 
of earth and debris of all kinds would go flying 
through the air, the earth would fairly shake, 
and the concussion would be tremendous for 
hundreds of yards around. Then the people 
would await a couple more explosions, for the 
ship usually fired three of these shells. But 
after a few days, when they had become accus- 
tomed to the hour and to the number of shells 
fired, the Spanish made it a point of not retir- 
ing until after the Vesuvius had accomplished 
her night's work. 

It is perhaps well, before closing this chapter, 
to detail the points of difference between the 
blockade established by Commodore Schley 
upon his arrival and the later and newer one 
established by Admiral Sampson, after he had 
taken command of the fleet. Commodore Schley 
had based his plan of blockade upon the suppo- 
sition that the Spanish fleet had entered this 



AND SANTIAGO 263 

harbor for the purpose of provisioning and 
coaling, and would make an attempt to leave 
at the earliest possible moment. He therefore 
kept all engines coupled, coaled his fleet to 
its fullest capacity in the face of the enemy 
and without depleting the line by sending the 
ships away for any purpose, and at night had 
kept up a moving blockade, in the form of an 
ellipse, which kept half the ships moving 
toward the east and the -remaining vessels head- 
ing toward the west across the harbor mouth, 
so that no matter in what direction the Spanish 
ships attempted to run if they came out, some 
of the American ships would be already moving 
in the same general direction, and having an 
acquired headway would be very much more 
able to keep along with the fast Spanish ves- 
sels than would ships that were lying still with 
reduced steaming power. 

In addition to this Commodore Schley did 
not have a sufficient number of vessels to use 
for pickets, the Vixen being the only small 
boat, in addition to the gunboat Marblehead, 
that could be used for that purpose. 

On June 2d, a day after Admiral Sampson 
had arrived, he changed this plan of blockade 



SCHLET 264 

and established an immobile one which, no 
matter what the contentions may be as to the 
superiority of Commodore Schley's mobile 
squadron, at least demonstrated its entire 
effectiveness by absolutely preventing the 
Spaniards, as they themselves have admitted, 
from coming out at night. Of course, it must 
be said for Commodore Schley, that Admiral 
Sampson's method of blockade could only have 
been used with the larger number of vessels 
making up the squadron after the latter's 
arrival. The Sampson night blockade, which 
proved so thoroughly effective, consisted of 
placing the large vessels of the squadron in a 
semi-circle about four miles from the entrance, 
each ship pointing toward the mouth of the 
harbor, and using her engines only to keep her 
in position. This semi-circle, as originally 
established, consisted of the Brooklyn in shore 
toward the west and the New York in shore 
to the east, with the Texas, Massachusetts, 
Iowa, Oregon, and Indiana between them. 
Inside of this line, and about three miles from 
the harbor, was a picket line consisting of the 
Marblehead, the Vixen, the Suwanee, the 
Dolphin, and the Mayflower. Still further 



AND SANTIAGO 265 

inside of them and within two miles of the 
entrance were six steam launches from the 
warships. These launches were armed with 
one-pounder rapid-fire guns and were supplied 
with colored lights which were to be fired if 
torpedo boats or the fleet attempted to escape, 
or if there were any suspicious movements 
inside the harbor. 

But more effective than all this was the 
policy adopted of having two of the big war- 
ships throw their searchlights directly in the 
entrance. This was naturally a risky piece of 
business, for while by illumination in one 
place it made the surrounding darkness 
extremely intense for those on shore and 
blinded their vision, it still gave a chance for 
the gunners on Morro or La Socapa to pick 
out the ships from which the lights were oper- 
ated and possibly land a shell on them. Curi- 
ously enough however, the opportunity offered 
was never taken advantage of, much to Admiral 
Sampson's surprise and naturally to his 
gratification. He had ordered the search- 
lights thrown with some hesitancy as to the 
result, but there was no attempt made by 
those ashore to fire upon the ships at night, and 



SCHLET 266 

for the four weeks that we were there this 
operation was continued. So brightly was the 
harbor illumined at night by these searchlights 
that the green of the side hills could be seen 
and the wash of the surf over the coral reefs 
plainly noticed. On the ships throwing the 
lights the secondary batteries were kept 
manned so that the instant a torpedo boat 
showed her nose she could be fired upon, this 
firing also giving a warning to the remainder 
of the fleet. One night while the fleet was 
keeping this blockade the Texas thought she 
discovered a light moving along shore to the 
west. It was known that the torpedo boat 
Terror was not with the fleet in the harbor, and 
it was supposed that possibly she had come 
over and was attempting to join her sister ships. 
The night letter, which consisted of a number 
of colored lanterns, was displayed at the mast- 
head and was supposed to be immediately 
answered by the vessel toward which it was 
directed. No answer came, and the secondary 
battery crew of the Brooklyn, from which the 
episode was being watched, were ordered to 
their guns. One of the men on our after-bridge 
grew a trifle excited as he saw the light begin- 



AND SANTIAGO 267 

ning to move along and let fly a six-pounder 
without any orders. Instantly the Texas 
opened fire and for a few moments there was 
fusilade. You would have thought from the 
actions of Commodore Schley and Captain 
Cook that it was a mere drill instead of a 
probable fight, for in the same breath they 
began to berate the man who had fired without 
orders. It was very soon discovered that 
the light was one moving along the beach, 
probably a railroad train, and that in firing 
at it we had seriously endangered the 
Suwanee and the Vixen. The next morn- 
ing the Suwanee swung under our stern and 
Commodore Schley called through the mega- 
phone to Commander Delehanty, "Dan, do you 
think that was a torpedo boat?" To which 
Delehanty caustically replied, "No, I don't; 
but if your gunners hadn't been such damned 
poor shots I would have been underwater." 
Those who read of the blockade off Santiago 
probably considered that but for an attack by 
the enemy or a possible mine, their dear ones 
aboard the American fleet were quite as safe as 
though at home. Those who know little or 
nothing of life aboard a warship seldom realize 



SCHLET 268 

what a floating death-trap it is, only made safe 
by the constant, uninterrupted watchfulness of 
officers and men. The failure of one of the 
automatic electrical attachments to a coal 
bunker to tell of a fire would soon overheat a 
magazine and send the bottom of the ship 
crashing out by the terrific explosion of ammu- 
nition; or, a single slip in the handling of the 
tremendous projectiles as they are hauled 
from the hold up to the guns on deck 
might result in a disaster equal to that of the 
Maine. 

I remember one day, I was in my cabin, 
when the door was flung open, and my room- 
mate. Paymaster's Clerk Orin E. Hancock, 
staggered in, trembling, white to the lips, and 
with great beads of perspiration standing on 
his face. He sank on the edge of the berth 
and tried to speak, but could not. He shook 
as with an ague, and his trembling lips refused 
to utter intelligible sounds. I jumped from 
my seat, and grabbed the brandy flask, toward 
which he nodded. Pouring him out a draught, 
I held it to his lips, and as the color crept 
back to his face and the nervous trembling 
ceased, he gasped, "My God, boy! Here you 



AND SANTIAGO 269 

sit, calmly reading, and yet at this moment we 
might have been at the bottom." 

Hancock was a volunteer for actual battle 
service, his position not requiring him to take 
part in any of the fighting. He had been 
placed in charge of the forward eight-inch 
handling room which is in the hold directly 
under the eight-inch forward turret, from this 
place the projectiles being sent up in an electric 
elevator to the breech of the gun. The shells 
used that morning were explosive ones, and 
the plunger which detonates them is at the back 
and fastened, in order to insure safety during 
handling, with a sensitive wire. In the room 
with Hancock were about five men, and the 
space in which they were at work was not over 
twelve feet in diameter. The turret is easily 
thirty feet above, and Hancock, suddenly look- 
ing up, saw that a shell had slipped from the 
cage as the men were removing it, and that it 
was coming down with frightful speed, point on. 
With that discipline which marks naval men 
the world over, Hancock shouted out the order, 
"Stand clear," and the men stood up against 
the sides of the handling room, their arms by 
their sides and heads erect, although they must 



SCHLET 270 

have appreciated that if the shell exploded, 
as it is designed to do when it hits an object, 
there was no possible escape for them. The 
projectile came crashing down and struck 
square into the steel floor with such force that 
it never rebounded, and this it was that saved 
the ship. For an instant the men stood there, 
and then, with a sigh of relief jumped over to 
where the shell was and carefully lifted it out 
of the hole it had made. An examination 
showed that the sensitive wire which holds the 
plunger and which is broken by the concussion 
in the gun when it is fired, was severed, but 
that the failure of the shell to rebound had not 
given the second impact necessary to drive 
the plunger against the detonator. This had 
saved their lives. As soon as they could get 
from the handling room to God's fresh air for 
a few minutes they did so. Had the shell 
detonated, not only would it have killed all the 
men but it would have exploded the magazine 
and driven the bottom out of the ship. 



AND SANTIAGO 271 



BEFORE THE BATTLE. XVI . 

FOR five weeks the harbor of Santiago had 
been blockaded, and Commodore Schley 
and Admiral Sampson had each obtained defi- 
nite knowledge that the Spanish fleet was in 
that bay; but, so far as outward appearances 
went, there had been no indication to those 
in the fleet that the entire Spanish squadron 
was there. We had never seen a torpedo boat 
show her nose, nor had we secured a view of 
an entire war vessel, with the exception of the 
Cristobal Colon during the first two days we 
were there. But on July 2d, there occurred 
a series of incidents that demonstrated not 
only their presence there, but seemed to indi- 
cate that they were preparing to make a sortie 
of some character. 

The American fleet had bombarded on the 
morning of the 2d, the Brooklyn, the New 
York, the Massachusetts, the Iowa, the Indi- 
ana, the Oregon, the Newark, the Gloucester, 



SCHLET 272 

and the Vixen taking part. We went into 
action about 5:45 o'clock in the morning, and 
remained there until about 7:30. For some 
reason or other, the batteries ashore responded 
with unusual activity that day, and although 
none of their shells hit us — while the shooting 
of our fleet was exceedingly accurate and quite 
spectacular — remarks were made that the 
Spaniards were improving. We knocked down 
a lighthouse, tore up a western battery, dis- 
mounting one of their heaviest guns, and fin- 
ished the performance by the destruction of 
the corner of the tower of Morro, and knock- 
ing down the Spanish flag. No schoolboy was 
ever so tickled over some juvenile accomplish- 
ment, as was Commodore Schley that morn- 
ing over the lowering of this Spanish red and 
yellow. Every day for five weeks we had seen 
that Spanish flag go up in the early morning 
as if in defiance of our presence, and all day 
long it would flaunt us, only to be hauled down 
at sunset, when the evening gun was fired. 
Commodore Schley watched the bombardment 
that morning from a position on the port side of 
the Brooklyn, about half way between the for- 
ward eight-inch turret and the port eight-inch 




I 






{^ 



L.r-/?^^^^ 



AND SANTIAGO 273 

turret. He was standing on the deck, instead 
of on his httle platform near the conning 
tower, and his flag heutenant, Mr. Sears, had 
several times asked him to step back, the lat- 
ter being afraid the tremendous blast of the 
guns of our own ship would knock him over- 
board. It was drizzling rain, and the Commo- 
dore had on a rain coat, and once when a for- 
ward eight-inch gun fired I saw the blast from 
it drag the long tails around his legs, so that 
it very nearly threw him down. Finally, Lieu- 
tenant-Commander Mason and Lieutenant 
Sears together used respectful force and com- 
pelled Schley to get up on the platform, out of 
the way of the blasts. 

The blasts from these eight-inch guns are 
so terrific that they will take things weighing 
two or three hundred pounds that happen to 
be on deck, under the muzzle, and waft them 
overboard as lightly as though they were pieces 
of paper. Only that morning I saw a large 
chest filled with paint, and which had been 
buckled to the deck, swished overboard by the 
fire of one of the eight-inch guns. 

It was at the time that the Oregon knocked 
the flag off the Morro, that Commodore Schley, 

18 



SCHLET 274 

slapping his hands with enthusiasm, and say- 
ing, "By George! their flag is down," stepped 
out too close to an eight-inch gun muzzle and 
was forcibly hauled back by Mason and Sears 
just in time to save him. 

During the morning following the bom- 
bardment, we noticed that a little Spanish gun- 
boat was puffing around the harbor entrance 
in a very lively style; but as she did not at- 
tempt to interfere with the wreck of the Mer- 
rimac, no order was issued to fire upon her. 
From what transpired afterward, it was pretty 
evident that she was hauling in the log and 
chain obstruction which the Spanish had put 
across the harbor to prohibit the entrance of 
our torpedo boat, and also, probably, remov- 
ing some of the mines, so that the Spanish fleet 
could come out. We had two or three dis- 
abled five-inch guns on the Brooklyn, while we 
noticed that the Iowa had reported that her 
forward twelve-inch turret was out of commis- 
sion, and we spent most of the morning in 
fixing ours, finally getting them in usable, 
although not very excellent shape, there 
being some defect in the construction of the 
mounts. 



AND SANTIAGO 275 

Early in the afternoon a group of us sat on 
the quarter-deck of the Brooklyn, discussing 
the situation, and the bombardment of the 
morning, and watching carefully through our 
glasses to see whether the Spaniards would 
make any attempt to restore their partially 
destroyed batteries. About two o'clock in the 
afternoon, we noticed that smoke was rising 
in the harbor, and toward four o'clock, it 
became so dense, and rose through the still air 
in such perfectly defined columns, that there 
was no possible doubt but that the Spanish 
squadron was firing up. This was the first mark 
of activity that they had shown since we had 
come there. At about five o'clock, this evi- 
dent firing up continuing. Commodore Schley 
said to Captain Cook, " Cook, those fellows in 
there are either getting ready to come out, or 
else they are preparing to move around the har- 
bor into more advantageous positions so as to 
enfilade the hills with rapid gun fire if the 
American troops attempt to come over to take 
the city." Shortly after five o'clock, so firmly 
convinced did the Commodore become that 
some aggressive movement was contemplated 
by the Spanish fleet, that he called alongside 



SCHLET 276 

of us the converted yacht Vixen, and told 
Commander Sharpe, who was in command of 
her, to notify Admiral Sampson that there 
were extremely suspicious movements in the 
harbor. The little yacht hurried away on her 
quite lengthy journey, because it was a matter 
of about six miles for her to scurry across 
the fleet and find Admiral Sampson at the other 
end. Each ship in the squadron was one- 
half mile from its neighbor, so this semi- 
circle of war vessels was about fifteen miles 
around, the New York and the Brooklyn being 
at opposite ends, and between nine and ten 
miles apart. She returned later in the even- 
ing, after dark, and before taking her blockad- 
ing station megaphoned, as she had mega- 
phoned every other ship in the squadron as she 
passed, that Admiral Sampson desired an 
extremely careful watch to be kept, and for the 
ships to stay in as close as possible during the 
night. 

A close watch was kept that night, but 
beyond the fact that the smokes of the vessels 
that were firing up could be seen, and that 
there appeared to be a great deal of signaling 
going on by flash lights between the forts on 



AND SANTIAGO 277 

Morro and the ships in the harbor, nothing of 
unusual character was observed in the entrance 
itself. Hardly had darkness fallen, however, 
and the heavy mist enshrouded the island of 
Cuba, than it was observed that signal fires of 
some character were burning on the hills to 
the west of Morro. First one was lighted on 
the high crest near the La Socapa battery, 
and there was an answering flash light, at least 
so it seemed to us, from the ships in the harbor, 
and the signal station on top of Morro. Then 
a blaze gleamed up in the west, six or eight 
miles away, and still later others formed a 
connecting chain of fire between the first and 
last. 

Lieutenant-Commander Mason, who was sit- 
ting on the quarter-deck with us, and Captain 
Cook, both expressed the opinion that these 
fires were intended as signals to the fleet in the 
harbor, notifying them perhaps of the disposi- 
tion of our hostile fleet on the outside. Com- 
modore Schley did not agree with him. He 
thought that the Cubans from the west, under 
the command of General Jesus Rabi, were com- 
ing down toward Santiago, and that as they 
drove the Spaniards back, the latter were burn- 



SCHLET 278 

ing the blockhouses. But despite this diver- 
gence of opinion between the officers, one thing 
was thoroughly agreed upon, and that was, that 
the fleet of the enemy, in either event, was 
making preparations to come out of the harbor, 
for, naturally, if the Cubans and the American 
troops captured the city, they would make the 
place untenable for the Spanish fleet. 

All night long the two glaring white eyes of 
the flash lights kept the harbor illumined, so that 
no possible attempt at escape could be made 
by the Spanish inside, but there was no move- 
ment of any sort, although from the descrip- 
tion given by Spanish officers it is claimed 
that they had first contemplated coming out 
that night, and that it was not until midnight 
that Admiral Cervera finally notified the cap- 
tains of the various vessels that he would wait 
until daylight to make the attack. 

So without incident Sunday morning, July 
the 3d, came. It was as monotonous in its 
birth as had been the preceding days and Sun- 
days during that long blockade. Just six Sun- 
days before Commodore Schley had discovered 
the Spanish fleet in the harbor, while just four 
Sundays prior to that Admiral Dewey had cap- 



AND SANTIAGO 279 

tured or destroyed the Spanish fleet in Manila 
bay. It seemed to be America's province to 
make Sunday a fateful day for the Spanish. 

Perhaps it was because of our long stay here 
that we found little to admire in the Cuban 
landscape, or the picture at sea. Earlier in 
the campaign we found in sunsets and sunrises, 
in the cool of the night, and the warmth of the 
noon-day, some few evidences of the pictur- 
esque as described in our primers and geog- 
raphies: but as a plain matter of fact it is a 
picturesqueness that exists but in a small 
degree off the coast of southern Cuba. And so 
the morning came, with the star-lit night, like 
other star-lit nights, extinguished by a sudden 
rush of gray, a moving away quickly of the cur- 
tain of darkness, and the appearance of the hot 
sun clear above the horizon without a single 
parti-colored herald like that which marks our 
beautiful sunrise in the North. The sun does 
not rise, in Cuba. It jumps above the horizon, 
as if there were a mystical hand upon an elec- 
tric lever that brings it up, while at the same 
time it extinguishes the myriads of stars. This 
day it paled the brilliant gems on the masts of 
the warships, and compelled the signal men 



SCHLET 280 

using them to resort to the colored flags as a 
medium for communication. 

We were all on deck early, and our first 
glances were naturally directed toward the 
Cuban coast, because we could not see as yet 
the harbor entrance, for in the early morning, 
especially at that time of the year, just pre- 
ceding the rainy season, Cuba looked like a 
huge fog bank — a surging, rolling wave of 
tinted mist, in which the' huge, shapeless mass 
of the island had sunk, and seemed drowned, 
while out beyond it on the one side was the 
clear blue of a southern sky, and the shining 
ribbon of barely moving water. 

Slowly the bank of white clouds wavered 
and changed in tone as the sun crept higher, 
and then we standing on the Brooklyn's deck, 
striving with glasses to pierce its dense masses, 
began to see a feathery, snowy mass of foam 
curling along the line of shining beach, and a 
few moments later the edge of the mist took a 
tinge of green as the foliage of the lower hills 
began to show. Suddenly a light breeze blew 
in off the ocean, and the mist curtain wavered, 
and then parted, disclosing the outlines of the 
battery on the left, and the grim walls of old 



AND SANTIAGO 281 

Morro on the right, sturdily guarding the strip 
of blue water which ran between. Still lin- 
gering about the higher buttresses of Morro, in 
clouds of white, tinged with rose and gold, at 
last the mist disappeared, and from a glorious 
blue sky, the sun beat hotly down, making us 
seek the shade of the tiny awning stretched 
over the quarter-deck. 

It was just such a morning, this day preced- 
ing the Union's national birthday, as was the 
morning five weeks before, when, sitting on 
the after-bridge of the Brooklyn, Commodore 
Schley saw the fleet of Cervera in the harbor, 
and made to me the caustic remark: "They 
will never get home. " The sun crept up to 
where it compelled you for safety, if not for 
comfort, to avoid its rays; and on all the ships 
preparations were made to add one more day 
to the monotonous count that figured up five 
long weeks. 

The line of battle was somewhat broken 
this morning. The New Orleans, protected 
cruiser; the Newark, unprotected cruiser and 
flagship of Commodore Watson; and the 
Suwanee, a converted lighthouse tender, had 
all gone to Guantanamo, forty miles to the west. 



SCHLET 282 

the afternoon before to coal, and it was there- 
fore very much to our surprise that we noticed 
the battleship Massachusetts had also left, in 
the face of the fact that for the first time since 
we had been there there had been suspicious 
movements in the harbor. In response to a 
query from Commodore Schley, the officer of 
the deck said that the Massachusetts had left 
the line at daybreak signaling that she was 
going down to Guantanamo to coal. At 8:45 
our surprise and wonderment were increased 
by seeing the New York fly the signal, ' * Disre- 
gard the movements of the commander-in- 
chief," and quickly move away to the east. 
We had heard the day before that it was 
Admiral Sampson's intention to hold a confer- 
ence with General Shafter, but we could hardly 
conceive that in the face of the movements in 
the harbor he was taking away the fast New 
York to accomplish that errand when he had 
so many smaller boats to which he could trans- 
fer his flag. It must be remembered that 
the Brassey Naval Annual, upon which we 
depended for our information as to ships, cred- 
ited the Spanish vessels in the harbor with 
greater speed than any of our ships except 



AND SANTIAGO 283 

the New York and Brooklyn, so we watched 
the New York closely with our glasses as she 
moved to the east until at 9:20 she was entirely 
out of sight and out of signal distance. 

In the absence of Commodore Watson, who 
was at Guantanamo with the Newark coaling, 
and the retirement beyond signal distance of 
Admiral Sampson, the command of the Amer- 
ican fleet now devolved upon Commodore 
Schley. The departure of the New York and 
the depletion of the line of battle by that 
ship's absence, coupled also with the absence 
of the Massachusetts, the New Orleans, and 
the Newark and the torpedo boat Ericsson, 
furnished us, together with the fact that the 
suspicious movements in the harbor were still 
continuing, with a plethora of early morning 
gossip. But this did not deter Captain Cook 
from holding general muster, and ordering 
Lieutenant-Commander Mason to summon 
officers and crew to the quarter-deck. 

Dressed in a pair of white duck trousers, a 
shabby blue coat, and an officer's white 
summer hat, with no insignia of rank upon 
him. Commodore Schley braced his white- 
shod feet against the hatch combing, tilted his 



SCHLET 284 

chair back, plucked rather nervously at his 
imperial, and remarked, "This is pretty slow." 

Over the water from the Texas came a 
sweet bugle call to church, and the bell tolled 
softly. Three bells clanged out on the Brook- 
lyn, and Captain Cook and Executive-Officer 
Mason, both wearing their swords, came 
on the quarter-deck. "We're going to have 
general muster, " said Captain Cook, in response 
to the inquiring look of the Commodore, and 
the men began gathering in their various 
divisions. General muster is compulsory every 
month in the Navy, and the solemn act of 
reading the Articles of War is gone through 
with in a perfunctory sort of way. A look 
through the glasses showed on all the ships 
similar tableaux, and the typical quietude of 
Sunday prevailed. On the f6rward-bridge 
Navigator Hodgson had relieved the officer of 
the deck, and Quartermaster Anderson was 
keeping the long glass trained on the suspi- 
cious smoke just back of the high hill at the 
entrance. 

At this time the big warships had all massed 
to the east, quite a common occurrence for 
early morning. The western part of the 



AND SANTIAGO 285 

blockading half circle consisted of the second- 
class battleship Texas, the flagship Brook- 
lyn, and the small converted yacht Vixen. 
The Texas was exactly south of the 
entrance, which points southwest, while the 
Brooklyn and the Vixen, 5,500 yards to 
the west, rolled lazily in the swell of the 
trade wind sea. With the Texas as the 
central ship, the east was beautifully and 
effectively guarded by the Iowa, Indiana and 
Oregon battleships, and the converted yacht 
Gloucester, the Gloucester nearest shore. The 
Iowa lay at least half a mile beyond the curve of 
the circle, and, glasses in hand, X. remember 
calling Commodore Schley's attention to it. 
He answered: "I understand her forward 
twelve-inch turret is broken, and they are 
probably trying to fix it." I remember also 
noticing that the Gloucester was very close in 
to shore, and that, while the eastern end of 
the line was so formidable that no tactician 
with common sense would have attempted to 
pass it, there were openings to the west on 
both sides of the Brooklyn that must have 
offered tempting invitation to a foe desirous of, 
and eagerly looking for, a chance to escape. 



SCHLET 286 

It must also be remembered that the plan was 
of immobility, the ships pointing their noses 
toward the entrance but not moving, and 
therefore allowing a fleeing enemy a chance 
to gain a great advantage in a flying start. 

Thus, four American battleships, the Iowa, 
Oregon, Texas and Indiana, with the armored 
cruiser Brooklyn, formed the guard, with the 
two converted yachts, Gloucester and Vixen, 
as pickets. Of the ships of battle the Indi- 
ana could not exceed a speed of nine knots, 
and her forward thirteen-inch turret was out 
of order, the guns incapacitated; the Iowa 
had steam up but for five knots, and was also 
having trouble with her forward twelve-inch 
turret, and the Brooklyn had had some of her 
five-inch guns badly strained by the bombard- 
ment of the day before. None of the ships 
had steam for more than ten knots and the 
Brooklyn's forward engines were uncoupled. 



AND SANTIAGO 287 



''THE ENEMY IS ESCAPING:' XVII. 

AFTER-BRIDGE, there! Report to the 
Commodore and the Captain that 
the enemy's ships are coming out." 

It was the stentorian voice of Navigator 
Hodgson calling through the megaphone from 
the forward-bridge to the signal officer on the 
after-bridge. There was no need for the after- 
bridge to repeat it. For an instant it had 
turned everybody into living statues, but 
only for an instant. Then Lieutenant-Com- 
mander Mason's strident tones called, as he 
himself rushed toward the forward-deck, 
"Clear ship for action! " and the clanging bells 
notified those below of the summons to bat- 
tle, while the orderly mass of men, ranged 
around the sides of the quarter-deck for 
inspection, became a tumbling, scrambling 
heap of enthusiasts, ready for the fray. 

Hodgson had been on the bridge for about 
ten minutes, and he and Quartermaster 



SCHLET 288 

Anderson were taking the bearings of the Morro 
so as to move the ship to its proper day posi- 
tion. Anderson had the long glass, and after 
looking carefully said to Lieutenant Hodgson, 
' 'The smoke looks as if it was pioving toward 
the entrance, sir." "Give me the glass," said 
the Navigator, and, fixing it on the hazy smoke 
in the entrance, he took a long look. Ander- 
son caught the glass as it fell, or it would have 
been smashed, while Hodgson, picking up the 
megaphone, yelled, "After-bridge, there! 
Report to the Commodore and the Captain 
that the enemy's ships are coming out." 

Commodore Schley was on his feet in an 
instant, and reaching over back of me to 
where his binoculars lay on the steel hatchway 
cover, as he grabbed them up he exclaimed, 
"Come on, my boy. We'll give it to them now. " 

Captain Cook was standing just at the 
head of the stairway leading to the cabin, and as 
he heard Mason's ringing tones, "Clear ship," 
he dove down into his room, threw off his 
uniform coat and hat, tore off his collar, 
tumbled into an old black alpaca coat and a 
round linen sailor's hat, and in a jiffy was 
back on the deck again, issuing orders. 




^ 






AND SANTIAGO 289 

The Commodore sprang forward through 
the superstructure, elbowing his way among 
the men, who in their excitement and delight 
were paying little attention to rank or station. 
He was making for the little bridge around 
the conning tower. 

I followed him closely, and as he passed the 
after-bridge heard him call to Ensign McCau- 
ley, "Signal, 'The enemy is escaping.' " 
Lieutenant Sears, who was near, shouted 
back, "We have already done so, sir!" and 
Schley, as he hurried through the gallery 
toward the forecastle, answered: "Signal 
the fleet to clear ship." 

As he climbed the ladder to the forecastle, I 
remember his pulling out my watch, which 
I had loaned him, and saying to me, "It's 
just 9:35 o'clock." Just as we reached the 
point of vantage, a wooden platform two feet 
high elevated around the conning tower, there 
came the sharp detonation of a six-pounder 
and we saw from the smoke that the Iowa had 
fired the first shot and was flying the signal, 
"The enemy is escaping," having run it up 
several seconds before the Brooklyn served the 
same notice. Following quickly the warning 

19 



SCHLET 290 

of the Iowa, the doughty Texas opened with 
a big twelve-inch shot; and, as Captain Cook 
shouted to the quartermaster, "Full speed 
ahead," the Brooklyn's forward eight-inch 
guns boomed out. 

"Can you see the flagship?" shouted Schley 
to Navigator Hodgson and Quartermaster 
Anderson, who were on the bridge, and 
Anderson, who was using the long glass, swept 
the eastern horizon with it, and called back, 
"No, sir. The New York is out of sight." 

Just then Lieutenant Simpson popped his 
head up out of the forward eight-inch turret, 
from which he had fired his first gun a moment 
before, and called to the Commodore, "Did 
that one hit, sir?" 

"I couldn't see, Simpson," answered the 
Commodore, "but keep at them. Tell your 
bullies to give them hell!" then, turning to 
Captain Cook, who was now at his elbow, he 
added, "Cook, tell your men to fire deliber- 
ately, and don't waste a shot." 

Here we were in action. From the time of 
Lieutenant Hodgson's announcement to the 
time of the boom of the Brooklyn's guns was 
barely three minutes, and what to a layman 



AND SANTIAGO 291 

seemed the direst pandemonium and disorder 
was the finest of discipline and the acme of 
order. That men flew by dropping their shirts 
from their backs as they ran, that orders came 
thick and fast, and that men and officers 
seemed tumbling over one another was no 
criterion. That every gun was ready to shoot; 
that fire had been started under four fresh 
boilers; that every battle hatch had been low- 
ered; that every water-tight compartment was 
closed; that ammunition was ready for the 
reloading of the guns; that the fire pumps 
were on and the decks wet down, and that 
every man of 500 was in the place assigned to 
him for battle, completes an indisputably 
wonderful accomplishment. 

Turning so as to fire her port battery, the 
Brooklyn moved northeast toward the harbor 
entrance, while the big battleships, somewhat 
slower in their movements, pointed straight in. 
Glasses in hand, Commodore Schley tried to 
make out the enemy's ships. It was a trying 
and nerve-destroying moment. The terrific 
effect of the eight-inch gun fire on one's ear- 
drums, the distressing taste of the saltpetre, 
the blinding effect of the dense smoke, and the 



SCHLET 



292 



whiz of projectiles of the enemy in close 
proximity, all were forgotten, and we stared 
through our bedimmed glasses at the entrance 
full of smoke, from the enemy's funnels and 
our exploding shells, a yellow mass at which 
the first terrible fire of the American ships 
was directed with such frightful effect. Out 
of the midst of it there suddenly projected a 
black, glistening hull, the position of which 
showed it to be pointing westward. Would 
the other follow, or would they break through 
at different points.'' Still the frightful fire of 
the ships continued, and flashes of brilliancy 
from the mass of smoke in the entrance showed 
that the enemy had opened. The western 
battery on the crown of the hill was also 
dropping shot to the westward. 

At Commodore Schley's elbow stood Flag- 
Lieutenant Sears, also with glasses glued to 
his eyes. For a minute the pall of smoke 
rose, and then Lieutenant Sears exclaimed: 
"They are all out, and coming to the west- 
ward, Commodore!" 

"Yes," answered this cool commandant, 
"and the torpedo boats are with them." Then 
turning to Captain Cook, he said: "Have 



AND SANTIAGO 



293 



your rapid-fire guns ready for those fellows, 
Cook," and the Captain, smiling, pointed to 
the guns where the men were already firing. 
It was just 9:45, and Ensign McCauley hoisted 
the signal to the fleet to "Close up," following 
it quickly with another one ordered by the 
Commodore, and reading "Follow the flag." 

The Maria Teresa, the Viscaya, the Colon, 
and the Oquendo were now in plain view, in 
the order named, with the torpedo boats 
Furor and Pluton following. 

As we keenly studied the ships through our 
glasses we saw what probably has not been 
witnessed since the days of the Armada, ships 
coming out for deadly battle, but dressed as 
for a regal parade or a festal day. From their 
shining black hulls, with huge golden figure- 
heads bearing the crest and coat-of-arms of 
Spain, to the tops of their masts where fluttered 
proudly the immense silken flags, bearing in 
the heaviest of gold bullion the Spanish insig- 
nia which glittered bravely in the morning 
sunlight, to the brightly colored awnings over 
their decks, they bespoke luxury and chivalry, 
and a proud defiance of America's newer sea 
power. If death and defeat were to come, 



SCHLET 294 

they would be met gallantly, grandly, the 
nation whose naval prowess has been sung in 
song and story never seeking concealment by 
doffing a single iota of her pomp or pageant. 

Suddenly we were startled by a realization 
that the situation for the Brooklyn now seemed 
desperate. The great ship was pointing and 
moving directly toward the Spanish ships 
coming out to the west. Every inclination, 
had a decision been made suddenly, was to 
turn in the same direction, to the west, to 
head them off. But had this inclination been 
followed, the Brooklyn's starboard side would 
have been so placed that any one of the Spanish 
fleet would have been able to ram and sink 
her, or torpedo her, with the same fatal 
result. 

"Much will depend upon this ship this day. 
Cook," said Commodore Schley, as he noticed 
that all four of the Spanish vessels were mak- 
ing good speed and that none of our own 
ships were very close to us. "Don't risk a 
torpedo attack. Keep well in but keep out of 
their effective range." The Commodore was 
as cool as an iceberg as he made these sug- 
gestions to Cook, and the hand that raised the 



AND SANTIAGO 295 

glass to his eyes never trembled, as he 
watched intently to see how we could best 
move to keep in the action and yet not permit 
the enemy to carry out what was evidently 
their intention, the destruction of the Brook- 
lyn. 

Captain Cook was watching the enemy with 
equal anxiety, for we were now getting into a 
position where if we turned in toward the 
shore we were liable to run in between the 
Spanish line of battle, and the surf. Sud- 
denly Lieutenant Sears, who had his glasses 
fixed on the Viscaya, said, "The Viscaya is 
pointing out to ram us, sir." 

Sharply Schley swung around from his 
examination of the leading ship, the Maria 
Teresa, and looked at the Viscaya. She was 
certainly pulling out from the line of vessels 
toward us, while the Colon was pointing in 
toward the shore. Sharp and clear came the 
order, "Put your helm hard aport, Cook." 

"It is hard aport, sir," said Captain Cook, 
who had evidently anticipated the order or else 
was following out the first order given to him, 
to keep the ship away from torpedo attack. 
The Brooklyn now began to move around to 



SCHLET 296 

starboard, turning a circle away from the 
enemy. 

"Hadn't we better back on our starboard 
engine?" said Navigator Hodgson, and Com- 
modore Schley answered sharply, "No, we'll 
lose headway. We must get around quickly." 
Turning on her heel, in a short circle moved 
the Brooklyn, her port side a perfect mass of 
flame and smoke, as the six eight-inch, six 
five-inch, and eight six-pounders belched forth 
the deadly shot. Then, as she swung toward 
the four Spanish ships, her starboard battery 
opened, and the din was terrific. 

"Tell the men at the guns to fire deliber- 
ately and make every shot tell," called Schley 
to Captain Cook, and out of the choking smoke 
and fire Lieutenant-Commander Mason could 
be heard quietly instructing the men in the 
turrets as to the distance. The Brooklyn 
had described a perfect circle, and, although 
under a deluge of shot and shell, practically 
uninjured, pointed west and began her famous 
fight. The Colon could be seen sneaking up 
behind the Spanish line, as if intent upon get- 
ting away, while the Oquendo and Maria 
Teresa, evidently striving vainly to shield the 




M 
K 



§ ■> 
.5 ^ 



AND SANTIAGO 297 

torpedo boats, were receiving a most horrible 
baptism of shot and shell. 

As we got fully around we were pointing to 
the west, almost side by side with the Maria 
Teresa, the Colon inside of her, the Viscaya 
just behind the Spanish flagship, and the 
Oquendo last of all, starting to burn and evi- 
dently in trouble. Looking back we saw, 
instead of what we expected, our own ships in 
fighting array, simply a heavy pall of smoke, 
and not an American ship in view. Schley 
turned around and grimly said to Captain 
Cook, "Well, Cook, we'll have to stay alone 
with this crowd. " But just then, out from the 
curtain of smoke there came a mighty foam- 
crested wave, and after it a flash of immense 
brilliancy, followed by the roar which spoke 
for a thirteen-inch gun. It was the Oregon, 
and as our men and officers saw it, they yelled 
with delight. Over her low freeboard broke 
the surging waters that she pushed aside in 
her mighty race, and they dashed up against 
her great steel turret, under the mouths of the 
big thirteen-inch guns that were hurling death 
and defiance at the enemy. She was coming 
to help the Brooklyn in her terribly unequal 



SCHLET 298 

struggle with these four great Spanish cruisers, 
and every shot that she was firing seemed to 
be taking effect. 

And, then, as the smoke blew away a little 
more, we saw, following up the Oregon, the 
Texas, the poor old "hoodoo" of the Navy, but 
which this day was to disprove her maligners, 
and next to the Brooklyn and the Oregon, do 
more than any of the other ships to destroy 
the Spanish fleet. 

"Clark and Philip are with us," said Schley 
with a smile, "and we'll lick the Dons yet," 
and, as if to prove his words the broadside 
from the Brooklyn crashed into the Maria 
Teresa, while at the same instant the Oregon, 
firing at her from behind, put a large shell 
along her superstructure, fairly raking her. 

The sides of both the Brooklyn and the 
Oregon were now lurid masses of flame, so 
fast were the guns worked, and despite the 
fact that the Oquendo and the Maria Teresa 
both showed the effect of the terrible fire to 
which they had been subjected as they passed 
the Indiana and the Iowa, they were answer- 
ing well. The Oquendo and the Teresa were 
evidently attempting to shield the Colon, which 



AND SANTIAGO 299 

was running in, close to the shore, and making 
great speed in her efforts to escape, while the 
Viscaya had picked the Brooklyn out for her 
prey, and was putting up the greatest fight of 
the day. 

Dimly through the pall of smoke behind us 
we could see the two torpedo boats engaged 
in mortal combat with the doughty Gloucester. 

The first gun had been fired at 9:40 o'clock, 
and at 10:22 o'clock the Oquendo, riddled 
with shells from every vessel of our fleet, 
caught fire. For some minutes we could 
notice the men on her deck making efforts to 
extinguish the fires, but from the military tops 
and the superstructures of every warship fly- 
ing the American flag there was being poured 
onto her the deadly fire of small projectiles 
from the secondary batteries, while the Texas 
and the Iowa were dropping big shells into her. 

Just about the time the Oquendo caught 
fire, and started for shore, the Oregon and the 
Brooklyn each put a big shell in the Maria 
Teresa, Cervera's flagship, and she too began 
to burn, and at lOjji o'clock she turned in to 
the beach, her flag still flying, and we continu- 
ing to fire at her. 



SCHLET 300 

Lieutenant Sears, however, studying her 
through his glasses, said, "Commodore, she 
has evidently surrendered, but she can't get at 
her flag to haul it dovv^n because of the fire," 
and immediately the Commodore said to Cap- 
tain Cook, "Stop firing on that ship. Even 
if she hasn't surrendered the other ships 
behind will take care of her." And then, as 
the Commodore heard Captain Cook give the 
order to cease firing on the Maria Teresa, he 
said, with that thoughtfulness which always 
has marked him, "Tell the boys below. Cap- 
tain, that we have got two of them. Keep 
them informed of every advantage. They 
can't see, and it will cheer them up." 

At 10:36, just after the two ships had gone 
ashore, and when we began to fight the 
Viscaya in the closest action of the day, the 
positions of the ships of our own squadron were 
particularly favorable to the enemy carrying 
out his plan of escaping with at least one or 
two ships. Back through the mass of smoke 
we could dimly see the battleship Indiana. 
She had had some trouble with her engines and 
although the fight had been on for an hour, 
she had not moved more than a mile west of 



AND SANTIAGO 301 

the Morro. The Iowa had followed as closely 
as she could, but she too did not seem to have 
very much speed, and when she arrived at the 
place where the Maria Teresa had turned 
ashore, she swung in, too, as if to assist in 
the rescue of the Spaniards who might have 
survived. 

Both of these American ships had sent a per- 
fect rain of projectiles into the harbor entrance 
as the ships came out, but their lack of speed 
had prevented them from continuing in the 
fight. The Texas had moved along at a fairly 
good speed, fighting like a demon under com- 
mand of Captain Jack Philip, and she was in the 
fight up to the time that the first two ships 
ran ashore. 

The Oregon had proved herself a wonder. 
She had started away from the eastern end of 
the line, and Captain Clark, the gallant hero 
who had brought the ship around the con- 
tinent in daily expectation of meeting the 
Spanish fleet, having seen the signal "Follow 
the flag," displayed from the Brooklyn and 
realizing that the turn of the enemy to the 
westward would mean the destruction of the 
Brooklyn if she were not assisted, made as 



SCHLET 302 

straight after her as he could. He left the 
Indiana standing still as if she were anchored. 
He went under the stern of the Iowa, and 
raced by her. He crossed the bows of the 
Texas, for an instant blanketing her fire, but 
his own guns keeping up a tattoo on the 
Spanish ships, and he was amply justified in 
the risks he took with the ships of the Ameri- 
can squadron, for he arrived just in time to 
help the Brooklyn out of a bad predicament. 
And of course we on board that ship were glad 
to see him, for as a gunner's mate said to me 
after we had cheered her, "Not that we can't 
lick them, but it's good to have help," and I 
agreed with him very cordially. 

Captain Clark in his own description of 
this great race has said: 

"When we discovered the Spanish ships 
coming out our fleet closed in at once to attack 
them, each ship being ordered to keep ahead 
directly toward the harbor entrance. The 
Spaniards turned to the westward, breaking 
through our line or crossing it, and our ships 
swung off to the westward in pursuit. Both 
sides opened fire promptly and fired rapidly, 
and a dense smoke soon obscured the vessels. 



AND SANTIAGO 303 

making it difficult to distinguish them. The 
Oregon, however, ran between the Iowa and 
Texas (the next ships to the westward in our 
Hne), and soon after we sighted these four 
Spanish ships ahead, apparently uninjured at 
the time. Just then the smoke lifted or broke 
away to the left, andJ[^iscovered the Brook- 
lyn. She was well forward of our port beam; 
broadside to the enemy's fleet, and was fight- I 
ing all four ships alone. It made a deep 
impression upon me to find her there. I felt 
that we should mutually support and sustain 
each other, and that a battleship was needed, 
and that we would fight the fight together. The 
Brooklyn's course was perhaps a little diver- 
gent from ours, because the Oregon was 
attempting to draw up upon the Maria Teresa; 
but the Brooklyn and Oregon maintained this 
relative position, bow and quarter, approxi- 
mately to the end of the battle. The Brook- 
lyn was steaming straight ahead, as nearly as 
I could judge, and engaging all the Spanish 
sliips. The Oregon was endeavoring to come 
to close action with the sternmost one, and 
when she was driven out of action and pointed 
to the beach, the Oregon pushed on for the 



SCHLET 304 

next ahead, and so on until the entire fleet 
was driven ashore, burning or sinking." 

Speaking of passing the other ships, Captain 
Clark said: 

"The Iowa, when I first saw her, was 
steaming in toward the entrance of the harbor. 
Her position was a little to the westward of 
that of the Oregon, and at first she seemed to 
be advancing faster than we were in the 
Oregon. It seemed that she was gaining 
ground more toward the entrance than we 
were, and I thought she would get in there 
considerably ahead of the Oregon. Then the 
smoke became very dense and I lost sight of 
her, but I could see the Spanish ships as they 
came out and turned to the westward. I 
knew that they were turning sharply that way 
and that I would not get to the entrance in 
time to strike any of them, and that, there- 
fore, I must immediately haul to the westward. 
I put my helm hard astarboard and sheered 
off, and then I saw the Iowa again. She had 
evidently changed her course to the westward 
very sharply at almost the same time, and I 
was fearful she would collide with us — that 
she would swing too far. I therefore put my 




Copyright, ]902, by W. B. Conkey Company. 

''There was a Juirricinte of cheers'^ 
(xxix) 



AND SANTIAGO 305 

helm hard astarboard, or gave the order, 
'Hard astarboard,' to clear her, but we went 
by her and I saw no more of her during the 
action. 

"I saw the Texas just after passing the Iowa, 
and I was concerned about striking her. I 
was just clearing the Iowa when the Texas 
was reported on the port bow, and I had no 
time except to give one glance at her, and 
then to give the order, 'Hard aport.' Then I 
had to jump over on the other side to see if 
I was going to clear the Iowa. I was afraid 
my speed would not be quite sufficient to 
carry me by, and yet I had to get past, and 
I really cannot tell whether I saw the bow or 
stern of the Texas. I just saw this great, 
large object loom up out of the smoke, and I 
knew I had to give the order instantly to clear 
her. I knew or thought I would swing enough 
to clear her, but it might carry me into the 
Iowa, which I had just had on my starboard 
beam only about a ship's length off. I do not 
even know whether the Texas was pointed in 
or out." 



20 



SCHLET 306 



THE VISCAYA. XVIII. 

THE fight of the day was on at 10:36 a. m. 
We were side by side with the Viscaya. 
The range was not over 1,800 yards, the 
closest fighting of the day so far, and the 
nearest ship to us of our own squadron was 
the Oregon, about a mile and a half astern. 
The Colon was between the Viscaya and the 
shore, but clear enough of her so that she 
could use her guns on us. It was a critical 
moment for the Brooklyn. The Viscaya had 
larger guns and thicker armor than the 
Brooklyn, and she was known to be com- 
manded by Eulate, one of the most accom- 
plished and bravest men in Spain's Navy. 
This was the ship that had been brought to 
New York by the Spanish government for 
exhibition purposes, and the public press had 
declared that she was far superior to our 
cruisers, the New York and the Brooklyn. 
There was no hesitancy, however, in the 



AND SANTIAGO 307 

way we were fighting her. Lieutenant-Com- 
mander Mason was rushing from turret to 
turret and from gun sponson to gun sponson, 
giving the ranges, and the gunners were pour- 
ing into the Spanish ships, every few seconds, 
tons of explosive ammunition. 

It was a fight that was to set the naval world 
thinking and discredit the predictions of the 
prophets. The Viscaya, with armor double 
the thickness of the Brooklyn and guns of 
larger calibre, had often been placed by critics 
as the superior of the Brooklyn; and there 
was a low murmur of approval on the latter 
ship as the word was passed to concentrate 
fire on the former. Commodore Schley said 
to Captain Cook, "Get in close, Cook, and 
we'll fix her." A little turn of the helm sent 
the Brooklyn in to within a thousand yards of 
the enemy, and there they were broadside 
to broadside. "Nine hundred and fifty 
yards," called the messengers in to the turret 
decks, and the answer was the terrible boom 
of the big eight-inch guns, followed by the 
tenor of the five-inch and the shrill treble of 
the six and the one-pounders. The smoke 
was so dense that it was hard to see the target, 



SCHLET 308 

but up forward we could see the Colon spitting 
out smokeless fire from her side. When five 
minutes had passed and we had not felt the 
ship tremble with the concussion of Spanish 
shells, we looked at one another in amaze- 
ment. The water about us and between the 
Brooklyn and the Vixen, which had kept near 
us, absolutely boiled, while the song of the 
shells over us and a few muffled explosions on 
deck told that the Spanish aim was not so bad. 
Suddenly a marine in the foretop at a one- 
pounder gun shrieked down, "Every shot is 
telling," and as the word passed aft to the gun 
crews, the shooting became more vigorous, 
and 2,000 pounds of explosive metal went 
banging against the Viscaya every three min- 
utes. The secondary battery fire, of one and 
six-pounders, was unusually deadly, the Span- 
ish gunners in the Viscaya's superstructure 
being driven from the guns. At 10:50, after 
twenty minutes of this close engagement, the 
Oregon got near enough to land several six- 
inch projectiles in the Viscaya and to drop a 
few thirteen-inch shells about the Colon, which 
was rapidly drawing away to the westward. 
Twenty-four minutes of this close action 



AND SANTIAGO 309 

passed, and Commodore Schley, watching the 
Viscaya, which was just a little forward of our 
beam, had twice remarked that she was get- 
ting the worst of it, and once, as a shell struck 
her superstructure and apparently cleaned out 
a couple of gun crews, he said in an undertone, 
" My God, but she is getting a terrible baptism 
of fire," and then almost in the same breath 
his enthusiasm about the intended result bub- 
bling over, he called to Captain Cook, "Tell 
your bullies they're doing great work." Put- 
ting his glasses up to his eyes a minute later, 
Commodore Schley said to Lieutenant Sears, 
"Sears, it looks as if she were coming out 
toward us." It certainly did look so, for the 
Viscaya was sheering out to the south as if 
intending to again try and ram us. Just at 
that moment, an eight-inch shell from Lieuten- 
ant Doyle's starboard turret struck her a 
slanting blow on the bow, and there was a 
terrific explosion. Every one of us who were 
watching her knew it was more of an explosion 
than an eight-inch shell would make and we 
held our glasses on her to discover her injury. 
It became apparent, as the smoke cleared, 
that the shell had undoubtedly exploded a 



SCHLET 3 



lO 



torpedo placed in her tube to fire at us, and 
that it had blown out a large section of her 
bow. While we were watching her the Oregon 
fired a shell, I think an eight-inch one, which 
struck almost on her quarter-deck rail, and 
which seemingly raked her fore and aft. We 
could see men's bodies hurled into the air, and 
see others dropping over the sides. One end 
of her bridge tumbled down as though the 
underpinning was driven out, and then at 1 1 :o6 
o'clock she turned and ran for shore, hauling 
down her flag, her deck one mass of flames, 
and the ammunition, which had been brought 
up to supply her deck guns, exploding in every 
direction. 

It was during the fight with the Viscaya 
that we received most of our damage from 
Spanish gunners, two or three shells crashing 
through our superstructure, and one large one 
entering our gun deck. The concussion of 
this as it exploded below attracted Schley's 
attention, and he said to Captain Cook, 
" Captain, send below and see how many men 
are wounded. " A messenger was dispatched 
and he came back with the information that 
only two men were slightly wounded, and that 



AND SANTIAGO 311 

none were killed. Both the Commodore and 
the Captain stood for a moment, silent and 
amazed, and then the Captain, believing thor- 
oughly that there had been a mistake made, 
said to the messenger sharply, ' 'Go down to the 
hospital and tell Dr. Fitz Simons to report to 
me the number of dead and wounded." 

The messenger went, and came hurrying 
back with the same information, and a radiant 
smile overspread Schley's face as he received 
this confirmation of a statement he had hardly 
dared to believe. 

But while the messenger was gone there had 
occurred the one death that marked the naval 
battle off Santiago as one of the most remark- 
able fights in regard to fatalities on the con- 
queror's side, ever witnessed. George Ellis, 
a young man of about twenty-five years of 
age, was the captain's clerk on the Brooklyn. 
He was a clean-cut young fellow, and he 
had impressed me very much because he had 
what so few of us have, the courage to 
acknowledge in the presence of a conglomer- 
ate lot of men, such as you find on the 
warships, his behef in God, and his love for 
his religion and his church. Only the day 



SCHLET 



312 



before the battle we had received the mail, 
and in it was a great bunch of religious tracts, 
shipped to him by the Sunday school in 
Brooklyn which he and his wife attended. He 
had prbmptly distributed these around among 
the crew. He had frequently spoken to me 
with regret of the fact that there was no 
chaplain aboard the Brooklyn and that we 
could not have Sunday services; and on that 
very Sunday morning he had taken me into 
the captain's office, where he made his head- 
quarters, to show me a picture, which had 
come by the mail of the day before, of his wife 
and baby. Ellis had served his time as a naval 
apprentice, and had received an honorable 
discharge. He reenlisted after a while spent on 
shore, and had advanced to chief yeoman on 
account of his superior qualifications as a 
writer. His station in battle was to assist the 
navigator in getting ranges, and he had become 
very proficient in the use of the stadimeter, 
the little instrument used in taking the distance 
to objects at which the ship is to fire. 

Ellis stood with several of us at Schley's 
feet just in front of the conning tower, the 
Commodore being on the little platform and 



AND SANTIAGO 



313 



we standing on the deck proper. He was 
taking the range, in the absence at some other 
part of the ship of Navigator Hodgson, and, 
in order to find the distance to the Viscaya he 
was compelled to go out in front of the for- 
ward eight-inch turret in the open where it 
was dangerous because the Spanish ship was 
using her secondary battery. It was just 
a few minutes before the Viscaya turned into 
shore that Schley suddenly said, ' ' I think the 
range to the Viscaya is changing, Ellis. Try 
her again." Ellis stepped out, raised his 
stadimeter, took the range, and coolly turning 
around called back, "1,200 yards, sir." 
" 1,200 yards," repeated Mr. Mason to the 
messengers, and "1,200 yards" seemed to 
say the booming powder which sent out the 
tons of steel that crashed into the side of the 
Viscaya. 

Plainly distinguishable from the hum and 
buzz of the Spanish shells which were fly- 
ing over us, there came a dull, sickening thud, 
and the warm blood and brains spattering 
in our faces and on our clothes gave warning 
of a fatality even before the smoke cleared. 
When we could see, there lay Ellis' body curled 



SCHLET 314 

in an inanimate heap on the deck, the head 
having gone overboard, carried away by the 
impact of a large shell. Luckily for us, 
the shell had not exploded, or else very many 
more of us might have been injured or killed. 

Dr. DeValin, who stood near him, stepped 
forward and gave one look at the body, only 
to see that life was extinct, and then he 
and Ensign Edward McCauley, who was close 
at hand, picked it up to throw it overboard, it 
being the rule in battle to dispose of mutilated 
bodies, the presence of which might disturb 
the equanimity of the men. Commodore Schley 
saw them, and in the midst of all this hot 
action, with all this tremendous responsibility 
upon his shoulders, with the shells bursting 
over his head and the small projectiles rattling 
against the turret, from the heat of battle this 
commander found time to turn and say, 
" Don't throw that body overboard. Take it 
below, and we'll give it Christian burial." 

Boatswain Hill was called, a blanket was 
obtained, the body was wrapped in it, and 
taken to the lee of the forward turret, where it 
remained until the battle was over. Schley 
took his handkerchief from his pocket and 



AND SANTIAGO 315 

wiped the blood from his face and coat, where 
it had spattered, while the rest of us near by 
did the same. Lieutenant Ryan, who had 
charge of the deck engines, was so badly cut 
by some flying pieces of the skull and jawbone 
that for safety's sake he had to go to the hos- 
pital and have the wounds cauterized. Almost 
the same instant that Ellis was killed a shell 
from the Viscaya, fully five times as big as 
that which had killed the boy, entered between 
decks on the Brooklyn, striking in a compart- 
ment where eight men were working at a gun. 
It did not hurt any of the men standing 
near the gun where it came in, but after 
cutting away a four-inch thick steel stanchion, 
demolishing an iron staircase, and smashing 
things generally, it exploded. The results, 
one might anticipate, should have been very 
serious; but of the twelve men in the compart- 
ment, but one, a coal passer named J. Burns, 
was hurt — a piece of the exploding shell going 
between his legs and slightly wounding him. 

In the meantime, while we were fighting 
the Viscaya and the Colon, the little Glouces- 
ter, assisted in some measure by the secondary 
batteries of the Iowa and Indiana, had sue- 



SCHLET 316 

ceeded in absolutely destroying the two torpedo 
boats. It must be remembered in speaking of 
these that either of them, properly handled, 
was more than a match for the Gloucester. 
They were very fast and very much better 
armed, having twelve-pounder guns upon 
them, while Lieutenant-Commander Richard 
Wainright, who handled the Gloucester, had 
only six-pounders as his largest armament. 

To Wainright belongs the great credit of 
having kept his head to such an extent as 
to remember during that first part of the 
conflict with the Spanish cruisers, that the 
torpedo boats were in the harbor and that 
if he left the entrance they might get away to 
the eastward and cause havoc among our 
transports. 

Firing a few shots at the cruisers, the 
Gloucester lay waiting for the torpedo boats to 
come out, and while she was waiting, obtained 
a range on the harbor entrance. The 
moment the first destroyer showed its nose the 
Gloucester opened a fusilade upon it, and 
undoubtedly made the better armed boat 
think that she had a Tartar with which to 
deal. At the same time Wainright closed in 



AND SANTIAGO 317 

upon her, and by the time the two destroyers 
had turned to the west to follow their fleet, 
the six-pounders, three-pounders and Colt 
automatics on the Gloucester were pumping 
shot into them with terrific effect. For a 
short time the torpedo boats answered the 
fire very briskly, but the Indiana and the Iowa 
from their upper tops were firing at them, 
and there was hardly a chance for them to 
gain shelter in the lee of their own ships. 
Shortly the Pluton, which had been the first 
to venture out, began to slo\v down, and it 
was perfectly apparent that she had been 
disabled. From the way she moved it was 
noticeable that her steering gear was some- 
what out of order, and it was not improbable 
that a shot had entered her engine as well. 
At any rate, she turned for shore and running 
in on a coral reef struck it and broke in two, 
her boilers exploding, and completely wreck- 
ing her. 

By this time the Iowa and the Indiana had 
gotten around the point just to the west of San- 
tiago, and the commander of the Furor, evi- 
dently seeing that the Gloucester was alone, 
turned as if to attack her. The terrible fire 



SCHLET 318 

from the Gloucester, however, never slackened, 
and one of the larger shells piercing the Furor's 
boilers they exploded and she began to sink 
at the stern, her bow twisting up in the air. 
Steam and smoke were rising from her, and the 
Gloucester, which a minute before had been 
fighting her to the death, now began the work 
of rescuing her crew. Lieutenant Thomas 
Wood took a boat from the Gloucester and 
went alongside of the Furor at a tremendous 
risk, because she was in great danger of sinking 
at any moment and swamping everything that 
came near her. He managed to get off some 
ten or twelve of her crew, or pick them up 
out of the water. Lieutenant Wood's own 
description of the scene aboard of her, just 
before she sank, will best describe her condi- 
tion. He said: 

*' On reaching the Furor, a scene of horror 
and wreck confronted us. The ship was rid- 
dled by three and six-pound shells, though I 
observed no damage by larger projectiles. She 
was on fire below from stem to stern, and on 
her spar deck were the dead and horribly man- 
gled bodies of some twenty of the officers and 
crew. One of her boats was at the davits, 



AND SANTIAGO 319 

smashed to atoms. I afterward found another 
a short distance away, bottom up and stove, 
but sustaining two survivors, whom I rescued. 
In the meantime another of the Gloucester's 
boats arrived, and boarded the wreck, in 
charge of Lieutenant Norman, and between us 
we saved some ten or twelve of the crew who 
remained on board. Finding it impossible to 
save the ship, and fearing damage to our own 
crew from explosion, I directed our two crews, 
with the survivors of the Furor, to abandon 
the ship and return to the Gloucester. This 
was done, and I was so fortunate as to find 
and take with me the Furor's ensign." 

The Pluton's crew, in the meantime, were 
jumping overboard and struggling through the 
surf to get ashore and avoid a capture, but a 
large percentage of those who tried to escape 
in this way were drowned, or crushed by dash- 
ing against the coral reef. Lieutenant Proctor, 
of the Gloucester, went over in a boat toward 
the Pluton and tried to rescue some of her 
crew. He picked up one boat load, most of 
them swimming about the wreck, but could not 
do very much because of the heavy surf that 
was rolling. He said himself: 



SCHLET 320 

" I made for the Pluton, gathered in a boat 
load of people, and returned. I then went back 
to the Pluton, and attempted to board her; 
but the surf was too heavy, breaking over her 
deck. I picked up another boat load, and then 
landed in a cove near the wreck. In the mean- 
while the other boats were taken aboard, and 
the Gloucester steamed out of sight. I tried, 
and finally succeeded with difficulty in boarding 
one-half of the Pluton, but the surf was so 
heavy and she was bouncing about at such a 
rate that I could not do much. The mortality 
was not great from our fire, but large numbers 
were drowned or mutilated on the coral reefs." 

The press boat Wanda had in the mean- 
time come along. She was a yacht used by 
the Associated Press and was in the command 
of Mr. John P. Dunning. He managed to 
rescue some of the men from the water, and 
threw overboard a wicker chair from the deck, 
which was floated ashore by the surf so that 
the Spaniards could put a badly wounded 
officer in it and carry him into the Spanish 
lines. It turned out afterward that this 
officer was Admiral Villamel, commander of 
the torpedo fleet. He was desperately 




Captain Charles E. Clark. 
(xxx) 



AND SANTIAGO 321 

wounded, and after his men had fastened him 
into the chair he died and the body was left 
concealed among the rocks. Long after the 
war was over, it was found and buried in 
Santiago, and has lately been taken to his 
native land. 



21 



SCHLET 



322 



CHASING THE COLON. XIX. 

WHEN the Viscaya went ashore it might 
be thought that the duty of the 
Brooklyn was to stay by her and help save 
some of her officers and crew, but Commodore 
Schley decided that the proper thing for him to 
do was to capture the Colon, which now had 
a lead of about six miles over us, and thus 
effect the entire destruction of Cervera's fleet, 
leaving the humanitarian work of rescue to 
the slower ships. 

What seemed to be now a forlorn hope 
faced Commodore Schley, but faith in the 
Brooklyn and in the splendid battleship Ore- 
gon, now close on the chase, never faltered, 
and he remarked to me, " We may be able to 
wing that fellow, and then Clark and Philip 
will get a show at him, even if he sinks us." 
Captain Philip's Texas could be seen about five 
miles astera The "fellow" alluded to was 
the Cristobal Color which so far as indications 



AND SANTIAGO 323 

went, had to this point escaped unharmed and 
now had a lead of about four miles over the 
Brooklyn and the Oregon. The Colon's 
accredited speed was nineteen and a half knots, 
and while the Brooklyn's is greater than that, 
it was impossible to make more than seven- 
teen knots, because the forward pair of engines 
were not coupled up and were lying useless. 
The Oregon had a speed at the most of fifteen 
and one-half knots; so it appeared as if the 
chances of escape were good, and every- 
body believed that for one ship to get away 
would spoil the day's victory. There was one 
chance, however, and Schley, quick to see it, 
determined to take advantage of it. The 
Colon was running close in to shore, and to 
continue her course had to make a long detour 
to the South around Cape Cruz, sixty miles 
west. The Brooklyn was two miles farther 
out to sea than the Colon, and after consulta- 
tion with Captain Cook and Navigator Hodg- 
son, it was concluded to run a straight course 
to Cape Cruz and try and head off the chase. 
The Oregon in the meantime stayed in close, 
so as to get a range on the Colon's broadside 
if she tried to run directly south. This line 



SCHLET 324 

of tactics having been decided upon, the 
chase, which lasted from 11:25 to 1:15, began. 

Up to the masthead of the Brooklyn went 
the signal •* Cease firing," and Commodore 
Schley said to Lieutenant-Commander Mason, 
"Get all your men out for an airing." In an 
instant the top of every gun casement and 
every turret was a mass of half-naked, per- 
spiring, but jubilant, cheering men. Even 
the men from the powder magazines below 
the protective deck came up, and joined the 
crowd. The Colon, in sheer desperation, was 
firing a few shells, but they fell so short that 
there were only jeers for them. 

In the meantime so cheered was the Com- 
modore with the results of the day and the idea 
that we would still get the Colon, that he 
began to get jovial and a trifle facetious. To 
Ensign McCauley he said, "Wig-wag to the 
Oregon that the ship ahead of us looks like an 
Italian," referring to the fact that the Colon 
was built in Italy, and that she had been sold 
by the Italian government to the Spanish. 
Instantly came back the answer from Captain 
Clark, '• Yes, but she will land on the coast of 
Cuba. " Then the Oregon raised a pennant, 



AND SANTIAGO 325 

"Remember the Maine," and the men with 
a roar of approval, saw the answering pen- 
nant go up, "We have." 

Suddenly a big fellow on the top of Lieu- 
tenant Simpson's turret, after asking per- 
mission of Lieutenant-Commander Mason, 
shouted out, "Three cheers for Commodore 
Schley," and in an instant there were three 
roars that drowned even the thunder of the 
Colon's guns and made me wonder if the 
vigor of the jubilant Americans' voices would 
not drive terror to the hearts of the crew of 
the Colon. Then somebody proposed three 
cheers for gallant Captain Cook and for the 
Oregon, and they were given with a will, and 
returned with interest. 

But if these scenes, lacking in tragedy, 
were going on above decks, there were men 
far below the steel protective deck still fighting 
for the flag; men who are seldom spoken of, 
but who are always heroes. At the fires in 
the coal rooms, and at the great engines, in a 
temperature of from 130 to 150 degrees, were 
men fully as patriotic and enthusiastic as those 
on deck, and the successful ending of the day 
now depended upon them. Into the furnaces 



SCHLET 326 

the coal was piled, while in almost a white 
heat naked men kept the fires clear. At the 
big engines stood the engineers, closely watch- 
ing for any flaw. Higher and higher climbed 
the steam, and faster and faster turned the 
great screws. Once in a while the great 
steel prison would open while a man was lifted 
out overcome by the heat, but the moment 
the air revived him he would go back to his 
furnace task. One man who gave way was 
carried up on deck, and his four fellow work- 
ers stood about with anxious eyes to see 
if he would recover. He opened his eyes, 
looked around at them and said, "Why the 
devil don't you fellows get back to work. 
What are yer standin' there for.-"" And as 
they slunk away he said to the doctor, "Say, 
Doc, are we catching the dago.^" 

Perhaps it is a new thing in the Navy, and 
perhaps it is not, but one thing struck me for- 
cibly: from the beginning of the fight Commo- 
dore Schley issued instructions that all news 
of any advantage gained by us should be com- 
municated about the ship to those who could 
not see, and it seemed to raise the esprit de 
corps at least a hundred per cent 



AND SANTIAGO 327 

The chase continued for about an hour and 
a half without much gain on either side, the 
Colon, at 12:15 having a lead of about four 
and one-quarter miles. Forced draught for 
the furnaces was being used on the Brooklyn, 
however, and she began to gain slowly. At 
the same time it was apparent that the tactics 
adopted by Commodore Schley had worked 
well, and it was evident that the Colon, in 
rounding Cape Cruz, would be near enough 
for the Brooklyn, and probably the Oregon, to 
broadside with their large guns. 

The problem now was whether the Colon 
would increase her speed and beat us to the 
point ahead, and Commodore Schley discussed 
with Captain Cook the advisability of stopping 
and coupling up the engines which were lying 
useless. The original order issued by Admiral 
Sampson required us to keep steam for mov- 
ing eight or nine knots with the engines 
uncoupled. We used the after-engines. In the 
Brooklyn we could use only just so much steam 
with those after-engines. Without coupling 
up all the engines we could not use all the 
steam that we could raise there. In the early 
part of the action we had steam enough to 



SCHLET 328 

make twelve knots, and we kept on increas- 
ing the steam until we had all that we 
could use with the two engines. We contin- 
ued to get steam with the idea that if the 
Colon should get beyond the point we would 
lose the time and couple up all the engines. 
It would take about twenty-five minutes to 
couple up the forward-engines. We had all 
the steam we could use in the after-engines. 

After considering the matter for a little 
while, the Commodore said to Captain Cook, 
"No, Cook, we won't stop. I think we will 
catch her. If she gets around the cape first, 
we'll stop and couple then, and, by God, I'll 
chase her to the coast of Spain, but I'll 
get her." Then he stepped into the con- 
ning tower for the first time that day and 
going to the speaking tube called down him- 
self to the men, "Bullies, we've only one 
more to get and it all depends upon you now," 
and up from that steel prison where the ther- 
mometer registered over 140 degrees, there 
came the dull roar of a cheer. Then this 
remarkable man came out of the tower, and 
sitting upon the edge of the forward eight- 
inch turret, chewed on a bit of bacon and 




The Commander-in-Chief and Two Captains. 

1. Rear-Admiral William T. Sampson. 

2. Rear-Admiral Robley D. Evans. 3. Captain John W. Philip. 

(xxxi) 



AND SANTIAGO 329 

drank a cup of coffee while he continued to 
chase the enemy. 

At 12:20 Commodore Schley directed the 
Oregon to try a large shell, and at 8, 500 yards 
a thirteen-inch shell rushed like a great rail- 
road train by the Brooklyn and struck just 
short of the chase. A signal was sent to 
tell the Oregon the effect, and then she tried 
another. This time it hit just astern, and 
threw tons of water on the deck of the Colon. 
The effect must have been terrifying; and 
when at 12:40 the Brooklyn opened up with 
her eight-inch and landed a few shots against 
the Colon's side, it became evident that the 
game was cornered. However, everybody 
expected that the ship of the enemy would 
put up a last fight and only surrender when 
overpowered, and we were all very much 
surprised when, at 1:15 o'clock, down 
came the ensign of Spain and the ship ran 
ashore. 

It may have been a revengeful providence, 
it may have been a mere accident, but it cer- 
tainly was a peculiarly strange coincidence 
that the last of the fleet of Cervera and 
the flower of the Spanish Navy should have 



SCHLET 330 

gone ashore at the very spot where the ill- 
fated Virginius expedition tried to land. 

As the Brooklyn and the Oregon moved in 
upon the prey, the men poured out of the fire 
rooms, black with smoke and dirt and glisten- 
ing with perspiration, but wild with joy, 
and when some wag raised a broom to the 
masthead, there was a roar of applause from 
the Oregon and an answer from the Brooklyn. 
Climbing up to the bridge. Commodore Schley 
gazed down at the jubilant men with just the 
suspicion of a tear in his eye. ' ' Those are 
the fellows who made this day," he said 
pointing to them, and then ordered Ensign 
McCauley to make signal "The enemy has 
surrendered." 

I was standing on the quarter-deck when the 
Colon surrendered, and I handed my binoc- 
ulars up to Lieutenant Rush, who was dancing 
a war dance of joy on top of his eight-inch 
turret, and asked him to take a look and see 
if he could see the New York, Admiral Samp- 
son's flagship. He scanned very carefully 
the entire expanse of water to the east, and 
said she was not in sight. His line of vision, 
naturally, from that elevation and with the 



AND SANTIAGO 331 

glasses was about twelve miles. In order to 
make sure, however, Lieutenant Rush handed 
the glasses to a quartermaster who was stand- 
ing by him. This man took a long look, and 
then reported that he could see three columns 
of smoke just over the horizon. As the New 
York was the only ship in line beside the 
Brooklyn that had three funnels, it was of 
course supposed that it was she coming up, 
and later the suspicion was confirmed. 

In the meantime the Texas, which was 
about five miles astern of us, had made out 
our signal, ''The enemy has surrendered," 
and seeing that the New York was too far 
astern of her to see us, repeated the signal, 
but the New York passed her without any 
recognition of it. 

Commodore Schley had ordered Captain 
Cook to take a boat crew and go over and 
obtain the surrender of the Colon, but this was 
a more troublesome operation than would be 
supposed. All the boats had been filled with 
water, and covered over with wet canvas, to 
prevent them taking fire from an enemy's shell, 
and it was some twenty minutes before one of 
the boats could be lowered. Then came the 



SCHLET 332 

wild scramble, and many appeals to be made 
part of the crew, from every man and officer 
aboard, and when the boat's crew was finally 
selected it was certainly a motley one, con- 
sisting of half-stripped men who had come 
out of the turrets, handling rooms or boiler 
rooms with the dirt and smut of battle upon 
them, and, tired as they were, perfectly will- 
ing to pull an oar to get over and obtain 
the surrender. 

Captain Cook took with him from among 
the officers Lieutenant B, W. Wells, Com- 
modore Schley's flag secretary, and Ensign 
Edward McCauley; while Boatswain Hill took 
charge of the boat. When the boat ran 
alongside of the Colon the Spaniards received 
it with mild cheers, saying "Bravo Ameri- 
canos" to the crew, as if they half expected 
that their captors were going to treat them 
very badly. Captain Moreu received Captain 
Cook on board and with tears standing in his 
eyes said: "I surrender. You were too 
much for us." Commodore Paredes, the 
second in command under Cervera, was aboard 
this ship, and he was very much affected over 
the surrender, sobbing bitterly as he gave his 



AND SANTIAGO 333 

parole. They escorted Captain Cook to 
their cabin, which had been wrecked by a 
shell passing through it, and there they were 
told by the captain that their surrender must 
be absolute and unconditional. Captain 
Moreu said that the officers would like to 
retain their personal effects, and Captain 
Cook replied that that was a matter the 
Commander-in-Chief would have to settle 
when he arrived. Much to the surprise of 
Captain Cook, he found that there had been 
but a few men killed on the Colon, and that 
some of these had been shot by officers for 
refusing to go back to the fires. But two 
shells had gone through her, and both of these 
were five-inch shells from the Brooklyn, so it 
was evident that the fear of the heavy shells 
of the Oregon, the fact that she could not get 
out of the bight and run to sea without meet- 
ing the Brooklyn, and the frightful fate that 
had met her sister ships, had caused her 
to surrender. There was serious evidence 
aboard that the Spaniards had not behaved in 
a thoroughly chivalrous manner. The breech- 
blocks of their guns were missing, and they 
had evidently knocked off the heads of their 



SCHLET 334 

sea valves and opened the torpedo tubes so as 
to sink the ship. This latter thing could not 
have been done until after she had hauled 
down her flag. One other curious thing found 
w^as that the Colon did not have her large, 
eleven-inch guns, and that her two turrets 
were empty. At first Captain Cook supposed 
they might have been dismounted for use in 
the batteries around Santiago, but it turned 
out later that she had never had these big 
guns, the ship having hastily been sent over 
here without completing her. She had, how- 
ever, two beautiful batteries of six-inch guns, 
six of them on a side. 

Another interesting thing noted by Captain 
Cook was the fact that several of the officers 
had packed their trunks and were ready to 
leave the ship, so that on their run to the west 
they had evidently determined that they would 
be caught sooner or later, and had made their 
preparations accordingly. 



AND SANTIAGO 335 



THE COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF. XX. 

WHILE Captain Cook was aboard the 
Colon, Commodore Schley went up 
on the bridge where he could get a better view 
of the oncoming American ships and of the 
surrendered Colon. As soon as he arrived there 
the signal, "The enemy has surrendered," 
was raised by Ensign McCauley, who at the 
same time jointly with Flag-Lieutenant Sears 
announced that the New York was not yet 
in signal distance. In the meantime it was 
noticed that the Texas, about five and one- 
half miles astern of us, had repeated our 
signal, evidently appreciating that Admiral 
Sampson would not be able to make it out on 
the Brooklyn, but that he might perhaps be 
able to see it on the Texas. The Commodore 
reached over to me, took my glasses, and 
looked searchingly to the east, saying slowly 
as he did so, "There is the Texas, and there 
is the Vixen, but I don't see the New York." 



SCHLET 336 

And then as he kept the glasses up, in an 
instant he had evidently found her, for he 
remarked: "Yes, there she is. I can tell her 
by her smoke." This was at 1:45 o'clock, 
and the Colon had gone ashore at 1:15, while 
Captain Cook had received the surrender at 
1 :43. Captain Cook, however, was detained 
aboard the Colon in his desire to be courteous, 
and had not started to return by the time the 
New York came in sight. At two o'clock, 
just as she got where we considered her in 
signal distance. Commodore Schley ordered 
the signal raised: "A glorious victory has 
been achieved. Details later." This signal 
replaced the one which we had had flying for 
nearly three-quarters of an hour, "The enemy 
has surrendered," and which the New York 
had not answered. Vainly the signal officers 
on the bridge watched the New York for even 
the courtesy of an answering pennant showing 
that she understood our signal. 

Nevertheless, as the New York approached 
rapidly. Commodore Schley ordered another 
signal set, ' 'This is a great day for our coun- 
try." Instead of an answering pennant to 
this signal, there went up on the signal hal- 




Copyright, 1902, by \V. B. Conkey Company. 

''''Admiral Ccrnera and his son luere rescued'' 
(xxxii) 



AND SANTIAGO 337 

yards of the New York a set of flags, which at 
first officers and men ahke on the Brooklyn 
hoped to be a message of congratulation, but 
which proved to be a terse command, "Report 
your casualties." 

"Report your casualties," repeated Schley, 
turning on his heel and walking over to the 
other side of the bridge, a pained expression 
on his face; and up to our signal masts went 
the flags, "One dead and two wounded." 

As if in direct contrast to this curious atti- 
tude of Sampson's flagship, Commodore 
Schley immediately began sending messages 
of thanks and congratulations to the vessels 
which had been near him during his great 
emergency. To the Oregon he had wig- 
wagged: "Thanks for your splendid assist- 
ance. If it hadn't been for you we might not 
have been here." To the Texas he sent the 
words: "You did glorious work. Thank you 
for keeping with us." And to the little Vixen, 
a converted yacht which had kept along with 
us, he signaled, "Thank you for trying to 
keep near us. You might have been of great 
assistance." And in response to each of these 

messages there came from each of the ships 
22 



SCHLET 338 

spoken cheer after cheer, all of which were 
answered by the men on the Brooklyn. 

Somebody raised a broom at our masthead 
on one of the pennant halyards, and the crew 
of the Oregon followed suit and then gave 
three cheers for Commodore Schley. On the 
Texas the men all lined up on the forward- 
deck and at request from somebody aboard — 
I presume Captain Philip himself — gave three 
cheers for Commodore Schley. The little 
Vixen circled around us three or four times, 
her crew yelling themselves hoarse for the 
Brooklyn, for Schley, and for the victory. 
But from the New York there came never a 
sound of joyfulness and never a cheer. 

Of course, both officers and men on the 
New York were naturally disgruntled. It 
must have been a terribly hard thing to them 
to feel that after five weeks of waiting they 
had been cheated out of a chance to take a 
shot at the Spanish fleet or to help in the 
entire destruction that five of their sister ships 
had accomplished. It was hard, of course, 
to think that the man who had planned and 
schemed so successfully as to keep the fleet in 
all of these five weeks, and who had perhaps 



AND SANTIAGO 339 

spent many a sleepless night plotting methods 
for their destruction, had only been able to see 
the wrecked hulks lying along the Cuban shore 
as he followed up the chase; but yet there 
was not an officer or a man who did not look 
forward to a message of congratulation and 
who did not feel disappointed that if, even in 
his perturbation Admiral Sampson had for- 
gotten to thank his fleet, his memory was not 
jogged by his staff officers. 

As the New York ran in between the Brook- 
lyn and her prize, it was evident that Captain 
Cook's slow-going boat, propelled by a lot of 
weary arms that had helped so hard in the 
fight that day, would be intercepted. Here 
was the climax. Schley's ship had borne the 
brunt of battle. Schley's broad pennant had 
been followed. Sampson's flagship had never 
been within signal distance of the fleet, 
although the Indiana's captain claims that he 
saw the flagship nearly all the time during the 
battle, from his extreme eastern position; but 
if that were so, Captain Taylor knowing that 
the Brooklyn and the Oregon were out of sig- 
nal distance of the New York, must explain 
why he did not repeat the Commander-in- 



SCHLET 340 

Chief's signals to the fleet. According to Cap- 
tain Evans of the Iowa, who ran in after the 
Viscaya at a point twelve miles to the west of 
the harbor, the New York did not pass him 
until 11:30 o'clock, which was exactly two 
hours and thirty-five minutes after the fight had 
begun, and two hours after five of the enemy's 
ships had been sunk or beached. This of 
course would put her out of signal distance of 
the fleet, because practically she had to run 
at good high speed for two hours before she 
could catch up with the leading vessels in the 
chase, and it was 2:25 o'clock before she 
stopped her engines opposite the Colon, while 
the Colon had beached at 1:15. 

Picking up the megaphone, which stood in a 
convenient corner of the bridge. Commodore 
Schley did the one thing that day for which I 
have always criticized him, — lowered his 
dignity sufficiently to plead with the com- 
mander of the fleet that he might have the 
surrender of the ship whose escape had been 
frustrated by the Brooklyn and the Oregon, 
thus making complete the day's victory. 

"I request the honor of the surrender of the 
Cristobal Colon," he said in a clear, distinct 



AND SANTIAGO 341 

voice; and from the Commander-in-Chief's 
flagship came wafted back the insolent 
answer from a cadet, "What?" 

"I request the honor of the surrender of the 
Cristobal Colon," again called the Commo- 
dore, and this time his voice trembled slightly. 
We watched the bridge of the New York 
closely, and Lieutenant Sears, holding up the 
megaphone to his ear, waited intently for an 
answer. But none came. And that message, 
as had all the others preceding it, which had 
been addressed by Schley to the New York, 
since the destruction of the Spanish fleet, 
remained unanswered, while from the other 
side of the flagship a megaphone message 
ordered Captain Cook to report with his pris- 
oners from the Colon aboard the New York, 
so that the ship that had not fired a shot that 
day except at a defenseless and surrendered 
torpedo boat, might have the honor of the 
surrender. 

Captain Cook reported on the New York 
together with his Spanish prisoners, and at 
the same time told the Commander-in-Chief 
that the Colon was in a sinking condition, her 
torpedo tubes being open and the heads of her 



SCHLET 342 

sea valves knocked off. Then the Captain got 
in his boat and returned to the Brooklyn. 

In the meantime, Commodore Schley not 
being able to see, because the New York shut 
out the view, that Captain Cook had gone 
aboard her and surrendered his prisoners, and 
believing fully that Admiral Sampson would 
allow him the honor of the surrender, as re- 
quested, made preparations to receive the Span- 
iards aboard. Looking down from the bridge 
over the motley crowd of sailors gathered upon 
the fo'castle, some of them half naked, and all 
covered with perspiration and powder smoke, 
he called down to them, "Bullies, the Span- 
ish officers are coming aboard. Don't cheer, 
we have vanquished them to-day and we can 
afford to be generous," or words to that effect. 
The sailors looked up, and appreciating the 
thoughtfulness that prompted the request, 
responded heartily, "Aye, aye, sir." 

As Captain Cook's boat came from behind 
the New York and toward the Brooklyn, we 
saw to our surprise that it had been emptied 
of its Spanish officers, and therefore Commo- 
dore Schley's caution to his men was unwit- 
tingly superfluous The Commodore there- 



J 



AND SANTIAGO 343 

upon, after Captain Cook had come aboard 
and reported, ordered the boat to wait for 
him, and gettmg into it, went over to the New 
York to officially report. 

During this time I_had seen the Vixen run 
up alongside of the New York, and suspecting 
that she was going to take dispatches to the 
nearest cable station, I asked permission to 
board her. Lieutenant Staunton, flag lieuten- 
ant for Admiral Sampson, had already been 
put aboard of her, as had also a correspondent 
of the Associated Press who was accompanying 
the New YorEr" Lieutenant Staunton objected 
to the Vixen waiting for me, saying that one 
correspondent was enough, evidently having 
in mind the fact that if I got to the cable sta- 
tion I would undoubtedly give the credit of 
the fight itself to Commodore Schley, while 
there probably was no such intention upon the 
part of Lieutenant Staunton or anybody else 
from the New York. Commander Sharpe, how- 
ever, with whom I had been quite closely 
associated and who was in command of the 
Vixen, insisted upon waiting for me, although 
Staunton urged the fact that Admiral Samp- 
son desired the dispatches taken in a hurry. 



SCHLEY 344 

I was thereupon allowed to go aboard to hear, 
as I did hear, the enthusiastic account of the 
fight as given by Commander Sharpe and 
Lieutenant Harlow, who of course had seen 
the whole battle. Unfortunately we made 
out a battleship just after we had started, 
which Lieutenant Staunton asserted was the 
Spanish ship Pelayo, and we turned around 
and ran back to the fleet without filing our 
dispatches. 

I was really glad this occurred because 
Commander Sharpe and Lieutenant Harlow 
on the one side and Lieutenant Staunton on 
the other were getting into a rather bitter 
dispute, the two former declaring that the 
New York was never for a moment in the 
fight or even within signal distance, while the 
Brooklyn had borne the brunt of it, and Lieu- 
tenant Staunton arguing that while they hadn't 
fired a gun from the New York, they had been 
fairly near the fight and it was therefore 
Admiral Sampson's victory. The officers of the 
Vixen had been in an unusually advantageous 
position to see the combat, her officers not 
having anything to do but watch the fighting, 
their ship being too small to take into action. 



.:/-VD S.^XTI-iGO ;45 

Just what occurred on the New York 
between Commodore Schley and Admiral 
Sampson as to any personal conversation, is 
with me only a matter of record through con- 
versations with G:>mmodore Schley, but the 
interview was a cordial one. Captain Clark 
taking part in it. \Vhile it \\-as occurring, how- 
ever, the Resolute, in command of Captain 
Eaton, came along and signaled that another 
Sfvanish vessel had been sighted, aiid that he 
believed it to be the Felayo, one of Spain's 
heavy battleships. Admiral Sampson ordered 
the Brooklyn and the Oregon to go out and 
find her, and Captain Clark of the Oregon tells 
the little story of the order so well that I use 
his statement in full here. Captain Clark said: 

"It was rejx>rted by Captain Eaton of the 
Resolute, that a Spanish battleship had 
arrived off Santiago, and I think he said he had 
been pursued by her. I will not say anything 
about that, though, as I am not certain, 
but he was positive he had seen a Spanish 
battleship. The Admiral did not seem to be 
impressed by that; he seemed incredulous. I 
remarked that it must be Camara's fleet, that 
they had arrived there to form a junction with 



SCHLET 346 

Cervera's fleet, but that they had arrived too 
late. The Admiral did not dissent; he did 
not say anything to that. Presently he said: 
'Well, Clark, you will have to go after that 
ship.' Believing, as I did, that there was 
really a Spanish battleship there, I said: 
'Well, Admiral, in war we want to overpower 
the enemy, if possible. Why should not the 
Brooklyn go along.'' He turned and said: 
'Certainly. Schley, you go also.' Then feel- 
ing that I had perhaps assumed too much in 
speaking to an admiral and suggesting that a 
commodore also accompany me, I turned 
around to the Commodore and said: 'Com- 
modore, we have knocked out several vessels 
this morning; we can knock out another one, 
can't we,-*' He said: 'Certainly we can, come 
on,' and started over the side. I started for 
my boat too, I think, on the other side of the 
vessel, though I do not remember about that. 
What I was most impressed with was his 
cheerful, cheery manner of approving of my 
having mentioned his going — that he had no 
feeling as a senior against me for suggesting 
it, and was rather approving and cheerful in 
his manner." 



AND SANTIAGO 347 

The curious part of this order for the Ore- 
gon and Brooklyn to go out is, that it was a 
tacit admission that there was no desire upon 
the part of those in command of the New 
York to take an active part in the destruction 
of the Spanish fleet. The Oregon had dam- 
aged some of her biggest guns by using 
extreme elevation for them. Her crew at the 
boilers and engines were practically exhausted 
by the extreme heat during the four hours' 
fight in which she had taken so glorious a 
part. Her men behind the guns were natu- 
rally affected by the nervous tension under 
which they had worked, and her ammunition 
had been greatly depleted by the rapidity of 
her fire. The Brooklyn was even worse off. 
The only man killed that day was aboard that 
ship, the body covered with a tarpaulin, and 
the only men injured in the fight were lying in 
her hospital. Six of her five-inch guns were so 
badly damaged in the mounts that they could 
hardly be used. Some of her eight-inch guns 
were likewise damaged. Her boiler force had 
been four hours in front of the hot furnaces; 
her gun crews had, according to the amount 
of ammunition used, worked harder and faster 



SCHLET 348 

than any other crews in the fight. She had 
many a hole through her, and a supposed 
injury below the water line that had filled one 
of her apartments, and she had borne the 
brunt of the fighting during the day. 

And the New York ! True, her fire and 
engine forces had done heroic work, trying to 
bring her into the fight, but from her guns two 
shells only had been fired, one at an already 
disabled torpedo boat, and one at the batteries 
of Santiago as she had passed them, so that 
her magazines were full of ammunition. Her 
gunners, who had stood with their hands by 
their sides during the four hours' engagement 
with the Spanish fleet, were ready and anxious 
for battle, and there is every reason to suppose 
would have greeted the opportunity to go out 
after this alleged Spaniard with a cheer. Her 
officers had stood around idly, simply watching 
the other vessels of the fleet destroy the Span- 
iards. Here was the opportunity for Admiral 
Sampson and his chief-of-staff to put her in 
active duty. But they did not. 

Commodore Schley climbed down the side 
of the New York and came aboard the Brook- 
lyn, stopping at the stern of the Texas long 



AND SANTIAGO 349 

enough to receive a cheer from the men he had 
formerly commanded and asking permission of 
Captain Philip to use his chaplain on the mor- 
row to bury the dead Ellis. Then as the crew 
of his gig pulled him away, he called back to 
Philip, "I'm going out to get another one, 
Jack. " 

Once on board, the Brooklyn headed out in 
the direction toward which the Spanish ship 
was supposed to be. The signal was made for 
the Oregon to follow, but the Oregon didn't 
follow, much to Commodore Schley's and Cap- 
tain Cook's surprise. Captain Clark doesn't 
know why he was ordered not to go, and Ad- 
miral Sampson has never given an explanation. 
The Oregon had a hawser to the Colon 
attempting to pull her off the beach and this 
may have been the reason why she did not 
accompany the Brooklyn, but true it is that the 
latter went out alone. 

When Commodore Schley noticed that the 
Oregon was not accompanying him, he turned 
to Captain Cook and said, "Well, Cook, 
after what has happened this day I think we 
can give them a pretty good circus, any way." 
And then the Commodore ordered that the port 



SCHLET 350 

side on which the guns were in better shape be 
kept trained on the enemy, as soon as she was 
sighted. On the way out he met the Vixen 
coming back at a Hvely pace and signaling 
"Enemy's vessel discovered to the east." 
Admiral Sampson's flag lieutenant, Staunton, 
who was aboard her, megaphoned over to the 
Brooklyn, "We have sighted a ship flying the 
Spanish colors coming from the east. She is 
a battleship, and I think the Pelayo. " Commo- 
dore Schley megaphoned back "All right," and 
the Brooklyn flying her tattered battle flags and 
under a good head of steam, kept on her way. 

Very soon the alleged Spaniard was discov- 
ered, and Captain Cook said to Commodore 
Schley, "That fellow is flying the Spanish flag, 
but that is not the Pelayo. The Pelayo has 
turrets and this fellow hasn't any." 

Closer the Brooklyn got to her, and began 
circling around her, drawing the circle smaller 
each time and keeping her port battery trained 
upon the strange vessel. Suddenly Captain 
Cook, who had been looking at her closely 
through the glasses, turned to Commodore 
Schley and said, "That's a funny thing. She 
has up a string of international signals," 



AND SANTIAGO 351 

International signals are those made between 
merchant vessels, or between ships of war dur- 
ing peace times. It not being peace times with 
us, there was some difficulty in finding the in- 
ternational signal book, and as it was beginning 
to get rather dark, the foreign ship of war turned 
her own searchlights on her flags, as if she 
was very anxious to have us read them aright. 
Then the Brooklyn's signal officers made out 
this signal: "This ship flies the Austrian flag. 
Please don't fire." 

I have no doubt that the Austrians heard 
the roar of laughter which greeted this render- 
ing of the signal. In a few moments a boat 
was lowered from that vessel, and one of her 
officers came alongside the Brooklyn. He pre- 
sented his commander's respects to Commo- 
dore Schley, and said that they desired to enter 
the harbor of Santiago. "You will have to 
communicate with the Commander-in-Chief 
concerning that," said the Commodore. The 
young officer said that he had heard from 
another American vessel, the Indiana, of the 
destruction of the Spanish fleet. As he was 
leaving, he turned to the Commodore and 
said, ' 'How far shall we lie out behind your 



SCHLET 352 

blockade line to-night?" And Commodore 
Schley, with just a touch of sarcasm in his 
voice, answered, "Well, sir; the distance ought 
to be ten miles, but if I were you and had no 
countersign, considering the situation, I would 
make it twenty." And he did, as we saw no 
more of him that night. 

Commodore Schley did not go back to 
report to Admiral Sampson, believing that his 
proper place as second in command was off 
Santiago, so the Brooklyn continued on her 
way to that harbor, where she arrived about 
midnight. 

Where the Colon had gone ashore was, until 
midnight, a most interesting scene. The officers 
and men of the surrendered ship were taken 
off by the yacht Vixen and sent to the ship 
Resolute as prisoners. The hawser which the 
Oregon had sent over to the Colon had pulled 
her off the sliding bank of sand on which she 
was lying, and she rapidly filled with water. 
The New York pushed her upon the beach very 
cleverly, but the Spaniards had done their work 
so thoroughly that just after the last boat load 
had been taken away from her, she turned over 
on her side. 




I 



^ 



a ^ 



AND SANTIAGO 353 

In the meantime no cable dispatch announc- 
ing the victory having been sent, Admiral Samp- 
son put Flag-Lieutenant Sidney A. Staunton 
upon the torpedo boat Ericsson and sent him 
down to Siboney, where the army had estab- 
lished a cable station, with orders to send a dis- 
patch to the Navy Department, the result 
being that Mr. Staunton wrote this dispatch, 
signing it, as he was authorized to do, with 
Admiral Sampson's name. 

The fleet under my command offers the 
nation as a Fourth of July present the whole 
of Cervera's fleet. It attempted to escape at 
9:30 this morning. At two the last ship, the 
Cristobal Colon, had run ashore, seventy-five 
miles west of Santiago and hauled down her 
colors. The Infanta Maria Teresa, Oquendo, 
and Viscaya were forced ashore, burned, and 
blown up within twenty miles of Santiago. 
The Furor and Pluton were destroyed within 
four miles of the port. Sampson. 

The men on the ships of the squadron that 
had taken part in this tremendous encounter 
with such splendid credit to themselves and 
the nation were reassembled together before 
the harbor of Santiago on the morning of July 
4th, and upon that day and several succeed- 

23 



SCHLET 



354 



ing days waited for some message of congratu- 
lation from the Commander-in-Chief, or from 
officials at Washington, but it was not until 
July 8th, that in an exceedingly formal way 
the congratulations of the President, and 
of Secretary of the Navy Long, were conveyed 
to the wondering and waiting crews. No word 
from Admiral Sampson accompanied them. 
Whether or not the dispatches from the Presi- 
dent and the Secretary were held up or belated 
by the cable, I do not know, but it is to be 
presumed that they were. 



AND SANTIAGO 355 



SCHLEY IN BATTLE. XXI. 

I FEEL I ought to devote a chapter to 
Schley's personality during battle. 

The biting, blinding swirl of smoke from 
the thundering pair of eight-inch guns in 
the forward turret of the Brooklyn blew 
aside for an instant, and as Lieutenant Simp- 
son stuck his head out of the cover of the 
turret and sang out, "Did that one hit them, 
Commodore?" the lithe, active figure on the 
little platform outside of the conning tower 
dropped the binoculars from his eyes for an 
instant and said, "I couldn't see it, Simpson; 
but keep right at them." 

This tall, sHm figure, in blue and white, 
with hardly a mark on his uniform to iden- 
tify him, with iron gray hair, moustache and 
imperial, was the commander this eventful 
day because of the absence of the Commander- 
in-Chief of the American squadron, which had 
suddenly found itself in combat mortal with 



SCHLET 356 

the Spanish squadron of Cervera, He stood 
there on the httle temporary footboard placed 
for just this purpose on the outside of the 
conning tower, the same erect, energetic figure 
that years before in the lookout box on the 
mast of an American cruiser, gazed across ice 
fields and ordered the ship pushed through 
them to rescue the starving Greeley and his 
party from the death that would have come to 
them in forty-eight hours but for this man's 
indomitable will. 

When he had answered Simpson's query, 
the glasses went up to his eyes again, and 
pointing with his other hand toward the first 
two vessels which had now emerged from the 
harbor, he said to Captain Cook, "They are 
coming to the west, Cook. Go straight at 
them." Then, with that thoughtful, self- 
possession and kindliness which has always 
marked him, he said, "Keep the men below 
informed of the progress of the fight." 

The figure in front of the conning tower was 
that of Winfield Scott Schley, and the battle 
the culmination of those five weeks of wait- 
ing before the harbor of Santiago which had 
followed the discovery of Cervera's fleet by 



AND SANTIAGO 357 

this same successful sea-fighter. In these first 
few minutes as the Spanish fleet moved out, 
there was the natural hurry and the intense 
excitement which would mark such a surprise, 
but this figure in blue on the roughly-erected 
promenade talked off orders like clockwork. 
"Signal close in," he said to Lieutenant Sears, 
who stood near him; "Signal they are going 
to the west," he said in another instant; and, 
"Open fire. Cook, and fire deliberately," were 
some of the orders he gave preceding Simp- 
son's inquiry concerning the effect of his first 
shot. "I can't see the New York," was the 
next remark he made. "Can any of you see 
her.?" and he handed the glasses over to one of 
the signal officers near him. The response to 
this inquiry that "She was not in sight," 
brought from him the remark, "Then it's 
our fight," and he leaned back against the 
conning tower, and held the glasses as stead- 
ily to his eyes as if in peace times he had 
been trying to get a glimpse of the home shore 
after a long voyage. 

"You messengers look out for that gun 
blast," he said to a lot of half dressed sailors, 
as the ship lunged slightly to starboard and the 



SCHLET 358 

forward pair of eight-inch guns came swinging 
around to port. "Don't duck," he said, with 
a pleasant smile to me as something whizzed 
over us, "The ones that you hear won't hurt 
you," and then back he went to the serious 
work of the day. There wasn't a tremor to 
his arm as he raised it and pointing to the 
harbor said, "There comes the fourth one, 
Cook," and then as he saw the Brooklyn 
swing in very close to the enemy and saw the 
enemy's ships spread out in fan shape as if to 
surround him, he said, "Put your helm hard 
aport. Cook." "It is hard aport," answered 
Cook, coughing and spluttering through the 
smoke. "Well, get her around quickly," he 
said, and although standing a few feet from 
him, I could not see him for the smoke, but I 
could hear the musical voice of the Commodore 
say, "Damn that smoke. Oh, for some wind." 
"We might go around quicker," said Lieu- 
tenant-Commander Hodgson to Captain Cook, 
"if we backed on the starboard engine," and 
Cook had just started to reply to him when 
Schley said sharply, "No, no; we will go 
around faster and not lose headway if we use 
both engines ahead." We were pretty well 



AND SANTIAGO 359 

turned now, and the Commodore had stepped 
around the conning tower until he was on the 
starboard side, directly facing the enemy. 
The bugle had blown for the starboard battery 
to open, and the smoke having cleared so that 
Schley could see the men going to the five- 
inch guns, he called to them as they started 
in to work, "Give them hell, bullies," and then 
in another instant slapped his side with glee, 
almost dropping his binoculars, as he pointed 
toward the first ship, from which was rising a 
light column of smoke showing that she had 
been hit and was starting to burn. "That's 
the stuff; that's the stuff," he said excitedly; 
and then, to the young range finder, "Get 
that range, Ellis; we're dropping a little 
short." 

I shall never forget him during those 
moments; he was all life, activity and nerve. 
He noticed the most trivial thmgs. I had 
knelt down, almost at his feet, to take a pho- 
tograph. He said as calmly as if he had been 
criticising me in a public street somewhere, 
"You'll never get a picture there, Graham. 
Go to the quarter-deck where the smoke blows 
clear." He was the inspiration of every man 



SCHLET 360 

forward. Some small, fourteen-year-old boys, 
apprentices, who were acting as messengers, 
had at first shown signs either of apprehen- 
sion or great excitement; but, as the Commo- 
dore told them calmly to take messages and 
walked coolly around this wooden platform 
with the shells flying close to him and shriek- 
ing over his head and in the deafening noise of 
his own ship's guns, even the youngsters took 
heart from his example. 

"Look oat for the torpedo boats, Cook," 
he sang out once, as the lookout above noti- 
fied us through the megaphone that they were 
coming out of the harbor. An instant after 
Captain Cook said, "There are no other Amer- 
ican vessels in sight. " Putting his glasses to his 
eyes Schley scanned carefully the dense mass 
of smoke which hung like a curtain three- 
quarters of a mile behind us. On our star- 
board side were the four Spanish vessels, each 
one of them plainly in view, and each of them 
firing. If Schley had given the slightest indi- 
cation at that moment that he was afraid of 
the result, or if he had ordered the helm put 
over to take the Brooklyn out of the fight, it 
is perfectly possible that panic would have 




iS 






3 p; 



AND SANTIAGO 361 

seized us all. But as coolly as if he were say- 
ing that he would join a pleasure cruise, Com- 
modore Schley said to Cook all in the same 
breath, ' 'Well, we are going to stay with them. 
Keep her in toward them," and, in the next 
instant, to Ellis, "Get that range, Ellis," He 
stepped out from the shadow of the turret and 
took the range. "1,200 yards," he sang out, 
and turned to step back. The next moment 
his headless body dropped to the deck, A 
six-pounder shell had knocked his head off. 
Two men were about to throw the body over- 
board, but, in the midst of a rain of missiles, 
with every indication that the Brooklyn was to 
be sacrificed, with almost everything depend- 
ing upon this man in front of the conning 
tower, Schley said quickly, "Don't throw that 
body overboard. Take it below and we'll 
give it Christian burial, " Hardly had the body 
been lifted to a place below the superstructure 
when there was a slight cheer, and Schley, 
looking around with his glasses toward the 
curtain of smoke, saw the nose of the Oregon, 
with a great white wave piled up in front of 
her, come rifting through. "By George, you're 
all right," he said, and almost at the same 



SCHLET 362 

instant, the Maria Teresa turned in toward 
the shore, a great column of smoke rising from 
her quarter-deck. Catching Captain Cook in 
an almost vice-like grip by the shoulder the 
Commodore exclaimed, "Cook, we've got one. 
Tell the bullies below about it." 

In the shadow of the turret just near Com- 
modore Schley stood young Ensign McCauley. 
It was his duty to send to the top of the masts 
the signal flags expressing the Commander-in- 
Chief's wishes to the remainder of the fleet. 
A flag came fluttering down just in front of 
us. "What's the matter, McCauley.?" asked 
the Commodore, smilingly; and with much 
gravity for a young man, McCauley answered, 
"Halyards all shot away, sir." "You don't 
tell me so.?" said Schley, and as if in answer 
to his query, there came down with a rattle 
and a bang a speed cone, striking heavily upon 
the platform near him as if to prove the truth 
of Mr. McCauley's statement that the Span- 
iards were shooting our tops away. The cone 
is very heavy, and if it had hit the Commo- 
dore it would probably have put him out of 
action, but he paid not the slightest attention 
to it, except to say to McCauley, "You can 



AND SANTIAGO 363 

use the halyards aft. I'll send a messenger to 
you." And then this remarkable man turned 
his glasses again to the Spanish ships, and 
discovering that the second vessel was just 
about going ashore, said to his flag lieutenant, 
Mr. Sears, • 'Sears, she looks as if she were very 
badly hit, and she may sink before she gets to 
shore." Mr. Sears looked at her for a few 
moments, and reported, "No, sir, she is in 
shallow water already, but her magazine will 
soon be reached by that hot fire." 

"Poor devils," said Schley, in a sympathetic 
tone. 

We were now in the thickest of the fight, 
for we were broadside to the Viscaya, and at 
closer quarters than any of the other ships had 
been. There was a grinding, crashing noise 
from the deck beneath us, and Schley said, 
quickly, "They have landed something in 
us. Send a messenger and see how many 
are killed and wounded." In a moment, the 
messenger hurried up and reported that a six 
and seven-tenths inch shell had come in and 
exploded, but that only one man was hurt. 
Once, as he glued his binoculars to his eyes 
iind took another glance at the Viscaya, which 



SCHLET 364 

was on our starboard quarter, he gave expres- 
sion to intense feeling in a long drawn-out, 
"My God," as his glasses showed him the 
picture of an eight-inch shell from the Brook- 
lyn striking a torpedo in one of the Spanish 
ship's forward torpedo tubes and bursting out 
all of her port bow. But, the spirit of the 
contest overpowering him again, as he saw a 
shell from the Oregon strike the Viscaya 
astern, he shouted to Captain Cook, exultingly, 
" We've got that one, too. Cook, She can't 
stand that firing." True to the prophecy, she 
turned at that instant, and started for the shore. 
She listed a little bit to port where the great, 
ragged hole was torn in her side, and Schley 
remarked in an instant, showing the predom- 
inance of that humanity which always marks 
the true hero, " We'd better signal Philip to 
stay alongside of her. She may go down in 
deep water," The signal was not raised, 
however, because before it could be prepared 
she had run on a coral reef and the Texas was 
going in to her assistance. 

The Colon was now about six miles ahead 
of us, the only one of the Spanish ships 
remaining to fight, and for the first time, in all 



AND SANTIAGO 365 

that two hours of fiercest fighting, this active 
man who had directed one of the greatest sea 
fights in history, began to show signs of nerv- 
ousness. Yet, he did not forget that below 
the decks and in the turrets were tired, 
hot men, who, if there was to be any lull 
in the battle, needed air and refreshment. 

"Signal the Oregon to cease firing," was 
the order given in another minute by the Com- 
modore to Lieutenant Sears, and then he 
began to study the position of the Colon and 
the proposition of getting her. He watched 
her very intently for some minutes, next 
studying the coast-line. Lieutenant Hodgson 
came down from the chart room with a map of 
the coast, and the Commodore carefully 
conned it. Then again he closely scanned the 
coast with his binoculars, going out on the 
fo'castle to get an unobstructed view. Once 
he clenched his fist and almost shook it at 
the Spanish ship, muttering, "I'll get that 
fellow if I have to follow him to the coast 
of Spain." Once again he studied the map, 
once more the coast-line, and still once again 
the Colon. Then he looked around at the 
Oregon and smiled, giving his shoulders a 



SCHLET 366 

quick, characteristic shake as though he had 
solved a knotty problem. His confidence was 
returning. He had seen a way to head off the 
Colon and was positive that he was to succeed. 
A cape, fifteen miles to the west, projected 
far out into the ocean. The Colon was run- 
ning close in shore, and to round this cape 
would have to make a long detour to the south. 
" Wig- wag to the Oregon to keep in close 
behind her," said Schley to Ensign McCauley; 
and then to Captain Cook, he added, " Cook, 
make a straight line for the cape. We can 
head her off that way, and the Oregon can 
help us." 

Then began that long chase, during part of 
which Schley sat on the edge of the forward 
eight-inch turret, swinging his feet like a 
school-boy, and munching on a piece of 
cracker which had come up in the lot sent for 
the men. 

Once in awhile during the chase a shade 
of anxiety would cross his face as he spoke 
of the fact that we were only gaining very 
slowly, and that if the enemy could but keep 
up the pace darkness might aid her in 
escaping. It was in one of these moments 



AND SANTIAGO 367 

that he signaled the Oregon, "Try one of 
your railroad trains on her, Clark," meaning 
a thirteen-inch shell. And Clark answered 
immediately by firing two shots at the fleeing 
Spaniard. Lieutenant Simpson, who was in 
the forward turret, as he saw that neither 
of the thirteen-inch shells of the Oregon had 
hit, touched his cap, and he said, "Can't 
I try it too, sir?" "I don't think you can 
reach," said Schley, "but if you are very 
anxious you may try," and again the Brooklyn 
began to fire. 

It was while the Brooklyn and the Oregon 
were firing that somebody thought they noticed 
a white flag fluttering from the masthead 
of the Colon, and there immediately arose 
a cry, "She has surrendered; she has sur- 
rendered." 

Schley raised the glasses to his eyes, looked 
at her intently for a moment, and said, " No, 
that's steam;" but in less than two minutes 
afterward, Mr. Mason, who was watchmg her 
through a long glass, called out, "She's 
hauled down her flag and fired a lee gun." 
Instantly Schley said, "What does that 
mean } " and as Mason, with a look of sur- 



SCHLET 368 

prise, said, " That means she has surrendered," 
Schley exclaimed, with a smile, " I'm damned 
glad I didn't have to surrender, because I 
wouldn't have known how." 

It was then that I noticed for the first time 
under what a strain this man had been. His 
lips were cracked, and little flecks of blood 
showed where the saltpetre from the gun 
smoke had affected him. His eyelids were red 
from staring through his glasses so contin- 
uously, his eyes were bloodshot, and there were 
dark lines down his face. But his hands were 
steady; his voice was even, though somewhat 
hoarse from the loud speaking which he was 
compelled to do to be heard above the roar of 
battle, and it seemed as though every instant 
he was thinking of all those who had helped 
him in that day's victory. From the New 
York to the fleet came no word of commenda- 
tion, and Schley, thoroughly disgusted, went 
to the bridge of his vessel, to watch the return 
of Captain Cook, whom he had sent to receive 
the surrender. While he was there he saw 
that the New York was going in between the 
Brooklyn and the Colon, and then saw her 
intercept Captain Cook's boat. 








a K. 



AND SANTIAGO 369 

A trifle broken in spirit, the Commodore 
came down from the bridge, and taking his 
barge, went over to make his official report to 
Admiral Sampson. 

I shall never forget the joyful mood in 
which he came back, and told Captain Cook, 
"Cook, they have sighted another Spaniard 
out there, and we are going out to get her." 
It never apparently crossed his mind that 
it was a curious thing that the Brooklyn, with 
damaged guns, tired men, and reduced ammu- 
nition, should be sent out to fight again, when 
the New York, with fresh crew, clean guns, 
and plenty of ammunition, stayed by a dilapi- 
dated prize. That it was an Austrian ship, 
and not a Spaniard, may perhaps to-day be 
a cause for congratulation by the American 
public. 

And when the evening had come, and the 
good Brooklyn was speeding toward her station 
off Santiago, and the crew had appealed 
to Captain Cook to allow them to cheer the 
Commodore, he stood on the quarter-deck, 
his hand raised in a sort of deprecating manner 
as they cheered, and, when they had finished, 
he said, * ' Bullies, the victory belongs to every 

24 



SCHLET 370 

one of you, as much as it does to me. You 
men behind the guns, and you men below 
decks, did the work this day." 

And that night, as we ran alongside of the 
Iowa, it was Schley from the bridge who 
called to the men on the deck of the Brooklyn, 
"Admiral Cervera is aboard the Iowa. We 
have vanquished him to-day, and I hope you 
will not cheer, but show your generosity 
to him for his courage." 



AND SANTIAGO 371 



PERSONAL BRAVERY. XXII. 

DURING all these four hours of action 
with the Spanish ships I saw many 
singular incidents which demonstrated the 
nonchalant bravery of the American seaman 
in time of great danger. In a few minutes 
after the first shots had been fired from the 
Brooklyn, the almost hysterical enthusiasm 
that actuates men in a moment of great 
danger had passed. The coolness of a partial 
despair born of a knowledge that careful work 
and quick work were their only salvation had 
grown on all in the fight. The messengers, 
who, traversing the most dangerous portions of 
the ship, had at first rushed headlong to the 
delivery point, shrieking the message, began 
to move more sedately; the gunners watched 
the effect of a shot before they fired again; 
the men came out of the turrets for a breath 
of air, and discussed with disdain the shooting 
of the enemy, although we were hit several 



SCHLET 372 

times. Captain Cook of the Brooklyn, scorn- 
ing the protection of eight inches of steel in his 
conning tower, walked about and discussed 
the ship's movements with Schley; and the 
men not busy at the guns would get in 
exposed positions to see, as they expressed it, 
"where the dagoes were." The Spanish 
had opened with their rapid-fire guns, and 
partly because the forecastle where I stood 
was covered with smoke from our own 
guns, and partly because I wanted to know 
how the men in the various divisions were 
conducting themselves, I started to make a 
tour of the ship. 

Passing back toward the quarter-deck I had 
to go by the row of five-inch guns, and almost 
every gun crew had something cheering to 
say to me, in several instances stopping to 
have me join in an hurrah with them. Going 
by Lieutenant Doyle's starboard eight-inch 
turret, I heard one of his best gunners com- 
plaining as he watched the shots from the 
eight-inch gun drop, or at least tried to watch 
them drop: "Sir, I can't see the shots fall," 
and Lieutenant Doyle, who was sighting the 
two guns, answered him tersely, "Well, you 



AND SANTIAGO 373 

darned fool, that's all right; when you don't 
see them drop in the water, you may know that 
they are hitting the ships." 

In the after eight-inch turret Lieutenant 
Rush, with a bandana handkerchief bound 
round his brow, and no indication of his rank 
about him to distinguish him from the sailors 
and gunners in his crew, stuck his head out of 
the opening in the top, although the Viscaya's 
and Colon's shells were whistling a merry tune 
over it, and sang out, "Say, which of these 
ships do you want us to hit ? " and Lieutenant- 
Commander Mason, who was coming by with 
a word of commendation for the men and giv- 
ing them change of range, replied, "Just soak 
the Viscaya; she's our prey; she's 1,700 yards 
from us now, and you know the New York 
people think she's a better ship than ours." 
Rush dived below to begin aiming, and imme- 
diately after the two guns had been fired 
his bandana-capped head stuck up again and 
he called to me, using a favorite nickname for 
me aboard, "Say, Cheesi, did you see me 
soak them ? " 

It was while coming out from beneath the 
steel superstructure to give an order to Lieu- 



SCHLET 374 

tenant Rush that Lieutenant-Commander 
Mason, the executive of the ship, nearly lost his 
head and his life, and yet it was an extremely 
singular fact that he never knew of it until I 
told him. Commodore Schley had seen me 
trying to take a photograph of the Viscaya 
from the forward-deck, and he had said to me, 
"Graham, you'll do better on the quarter- 
deck, where the smoke blows clear." I was 
kneeHng between the superstructure and the 
eight-inch after turret, my camera in my hand, 
when a concussion so great as to make 
me drop my camera, nearly knocked me flat. 
I looked up through the dense smoke and saw 
two things — Mr. Mason walking along as 
calmly as if nothing had happened, and one 
of the huge steel ventilators which furnishes 
fresh air for the men below decks, minus 
its top. The shell, which had taken off the top 
of the ventilator, had gone not over a foot above 
Lieutenant-Commander Mason's head. At 
ward room table that night I mentioned the 
incident. Mr. Mason immediately alleged that 
terror over the battle had probably made me 
lose my head and that he did not think that 
such an incident had occurred, We escorted 



AND SANTIAGO 375 

him on deck and showed him where the venti- 
lator had been destroyed, and then he only 
partially believed it. 

Up forward on the gun decks was a six- 
pounder gun that in the close forty minutes* 
action with the Viscaya had been doing 
valiant work. As the men were putting in a 
cartridge the shell loosened from the casing 
and became wedged. This was on the side 
near the enemy, but there was not a moment's 
hesitation. Out on the gun's muzzle crawled 
Corporal Robert Gray of the Marine Corps, 
a rammer in his hand ready to drive the shell 
out. The gun was hot and he could not 
retain his hold, so he dropped down to the sea 
ladder. Over his head was the frightful 
blast and draft of the big gun, while around 
him pattered the shot of the enemy. He 
failed in his attempt, and Gunner Smith then 
tried it, but he too failed. It looked as if the 
gun would have to be abandoned, but Private 
MacNeal of the squad, asked permission to 
make an attempt, and was allowed to try 
it. Clinging to the hot gun, with death by 
water assured if he dropped, or was knocked 
off by the concussion, and the enemy firing at 



SCHLET 376 

him, he got the rammer in the muzzle and 
forced out the shell, amidst cheers from 
his comrades. I watched these men closely. 
None of them showed the slightest sign of 
heroic exhilaration. It was evidently to them 
a duty of the commonest sort. A few min- 
utes later a six-inch projectile smashed into 
a compartment just below them. They 
laughed at the gunner's aim when they found 
nobody hurt. 

About the decks, the men not actually busy 
at the guns enjoyed the fight hugely. When 
a big shell hit the upper works and exploded 
with a roar, they would make disparaging 
remarks about Spanish gunnery. At one time, 
during a lull in the battle, but while the 
Colon was near enough to us to shoot, and 
I believe was shooting, I took pictures of the 
men standing on top of an eight-inch turret, in 
easy range of the enemy's guns, and cheering 
Commodore Schley. 

Up on the forward-deck, just near the con- 
ning tower, but even a little more exposed 
than those who stood on the platform or the 
lee of the tower, was young Ensign Edward 
McCauley, who had charge of the signaling, 



AND SANTIAGO 2>77 

and who had with him two or three marines 
and an equal number of sailors. At first 
he was apparently a trifle cautious, and bent 
his signal flags on the halyards from the lee 
of the big eight-inch turret, but as halyard 
after halyard was shot away, and as the fight 
progressed, and the Oregon was the only ship 
in the fight helping us, to which he needed to do 
the signaling, he would climb up on the top of 
the eight-inch turret with the utmost sang 
froid, and using a small wig- wag flag, commu- 
nicate with the battleship. Then, picking up 
his binoculars, he would watch carefully for 
the answer. Once or twice Commodore 
Schley, who was equally exposed to the fire 
of the enemy, gave orders for McCauley to 
come down, but he evidently grew tired 
of giving these orders, for I distinctly remem- 
ber the action finishing with McCauley still 
upon the top of the turret. 

Captain Murphy, of the Marine Corps, was 
about as beautiful an example of indiffer- 
ent bravery as I have ever seen. The Captain 
is nothing if not stately, and it must have been 
very encouraging to all of his men, especially if 
they were inclined to be a trifle nervous, to see 



SCHLET 378 

the dress-parade way in which he moved about 
the decks. He was as courteous, as cool and 
as collected as if he were running the custom- 
ary daily drills, and I don't believe he would 
have ducked if he had seen a shell com- 
ing. His position was everywhere on the 
ship where there was a marine situated, and 
his particular care was the secondary batteries 
of six and one-pounders. In this he was 
assisted by Lieutenant Borden, who, although 
not quite as dignified as Captain Murphy, was 
equally as calm and collected. 

The enemy's shots had seemed to be fired 
during the early part of the action, at least so 
far as their secondary batteries were concerned, 
a trifle too high, for they had riddled our smok e 
stacks, had cut away most of our signal hal- 
yards, and shot pieces out of the two great 
American flags at our mastheads. Suddenly 
a shot cut away the lower halyard of the huge 
American flag at the truck. I was on the quar- 
ter-deck at the time, and looking up, and it 
appeared as if we would loose the flag in a 
minute or two. While I was debating whether 
to go to Mr. Mason and call his attention to it, 
I saw a marine shinning up the steep ladder 



AND SANTIAGO 379 

toward the masthead. The small shells were 
rattling about him, and the black smoke from 
our funnels under forced draught made it very 
unpleasant for him. But, choking and splut- 
tering, he reached the top, got hold of the flag, 
and fastened the new halyard which he had 
carried up with him to the bottom. He had 
saved Old Glory. When he came down I 
asked him his name, but he looked at me in a 
surprised sort of way, and rushed off to his 
work. The next day when Captain Murphy 
tried to discover the man, he would not give 
his name. 

Captain Evans, of the Iowa, told of hearing 
a boatswain's mate on the superstructure say, 
as he handled a rapid fire gun, "Now, boys, 
mind them torpedo boats. Give them hell for 
the Maine;" and a few minutes later discover- 
ing a cadet lately from Annapolis, standing on 
the forward-deck of the Iowa tilting his cam- 
era in his efforts to get a snapshot of the 
Oquendo, while the machine guns of that ship 
were making the air sing. 

It is related of Lieutenant Heilner, of the 
Texas, that after the action had been on for 
about ten minutes, and after he had seen the 



SCHLET 380 

immense flags which the Spanish flew, he 
looked up to the masthead of the Texas, and 
discovered that they did not have their battle 
flag up. "Where are our battle flags?" he 
cried, and Captain Philip replied, " I guess 
they won't have any misconception about our 
being in battle." But he wanted the battle 
flag, and finding that the chief signal quarter- 
master was not available, and that he had the 
key for the locker. Lieutenant Heilner smashed 
it open, got one out, and ran it up to the mast- 
head himself. 

It was on the Brooklyn that I heard a boy, 
a youngster of fourteen years of age and one 
of a lot of apprentices who had been received 
aboard the Brooklyn about a week before 
the fight, remark jubilantly, as he looked out of 
a five-inch gun sponson, "Talk about your 
Fourth of July celebrations!" and still anothef 
one, a few minutes later, as he paused and saw 
a shell hit a Spanish ship, clap his hands 
and yell, " Did you see that one plunk her.-'" 

Captain Cook, of the Brooklyn, during the 
entire action showed a nerve, coolness and re- 
serve force that were simply remarkable. With 
the exception of raising his voice slightly so as 



AND SANTIAGO 381 

to be heard above the din of his own guns, he 
talked in the same matter-of-fact, methodical 
manner as he had on any day during the five 
months' cruise. When queried by Commodore 
Schley, Lieutenant-Commander Mason, or any 
of the other officers of the ship, he hesitated 
before answering, as if pondering his words, 
and this very thing demonstrated the entire 
control which he had over himself despite the 
excitement of the hour. He frequently stepped 
inside the conning tower to talk to the men 
at the helm, or to call down to the men below 
deck in the handhng and fire rooms some words 
of encouragement or advice. The only time 
that he seemed surprised, or a trifle unnerved, 
was when after sending a messenger to find out 
the number of killed and wounded below deck, 
he was startled at the information that Ellis 
was the only man killed. 

Down below the protective decks of the 
Brooklyn were over three hundred men prac- 
tically imprisoned, because the steel gratings 
to the hatchways were all laid down to prevent 
shells or fragments from shells going below 
deck. These men were at the engines, the 
fires, and in the ammunition rooms, and they 



SCHLET 382 

were working as hard, if not harder, and cer- 
tainly in a more intense heat, than the men 
on deck and behind the guns, but they found 
time at intervals to hsten to the reports from 
on deck that came down, and to cheer vigor- 
ously when they heard of the Spanish ships run- 
ning ashore. 

Once a piece of an exploded shell came down 
through a partially opened hatchway, and 
struck on the floor of one of the fire rooms. 
Instantly there was a wild scramble, not to get 
away from the shell, which they might easily 
have imagined it to have been, but toward it, 
to get the pieces as souvenirs. 

Hearing the concussion of a tremendous shell 
entering our gun deck, I hurried below to find 
out its effect, and see if a photograph could be 
obtained. I found the men clearing away the 
debris, which I thought a rather singular 
proceeding at that stage of the battle, because 
it was in nobody's way, until I discovered 
that what these men were really doing was 
digging out of the deck pieces of the shell 
to send to their relatives. They stood up 
in line as I came along with my camera, 
anxious for me to take a picture of them. 



AND SANTIAGO 383 

When the fight began that morning, there 
were in the ship's hospital three men, two of 
whom had been hurt by concussion from the 
bombardment the day before, and one of 
whom, a marine, was on the general sick list. 
One of these men had been thrown against a 
steel stanchion, dislocating his shoulder, and 
Dr. Fitz Simons had bound it up for him, 
using, I believe, some plaster in the operation. 
One of the other men, who, by the way, 
belonged to the same gun squad as this first 
man, had hurt his left forearm and wrist in the 
same manner, and he too was done up in 
bandages. Dr. Fitz Simons going through the 
ship during the early part of the firing, noticed 
two men serving a forward five-inch gun, both 
of whom were wearing the signs of surgical 
treatment. It didn't quite dawn upon him at 
first what had happened, and believing that 
they had been hurt by explosion, he said to 
them rather sharply, "When were you men 
hurt.? Why didn't you report to the hospital.?" 
The men grew extremely busy all at once, 
getting the next cartridge ready for the gun, 
although the shell then in the gun had not been 
fired, and so they failed to respond. Just then 



SCHLET 384 

the gun was fired, and the men hustled up the 
five-inch cartridge to load it again. Dr. Fitz 
Simons waited until they had loaded it, and 
then repeated his question. The men, looking 
rather sheepish, were just about to answer, 
when he was summoned to the forward-deck 
to look at Ellis' body. When he had finished 
he turned to Dr. DeValin, his assistant, and 
asked him if he had had any cases to attend to, 
and how the men at the after five-inch gun had 
been hurt. DeValin looked puzzled for a few 
moments, answering the first part of the ques- 
tion in the negative, and then, as the truth 
dawned upon him, a broad smile illumined his 
countenance. "I'll bet you," he said to his 
superior, "those are the two fellows who 
were in the hospital yesterday." 

The next morning three very penitent look- 
ing sailors stood before the entrance of Lieu- 
tenant-Commander Mason's cabin until finally 
the door opened and Mr. Mason stepped out. 
He said to them very severely, " You men are 
accused of leaving the hospital yesterday with- 
out permission. What's your excuse T' 

The big man with the dislocated shoulder 
had evidently been made spokesman, for he 







^is 



AND SANTIAGO 385 

said in a rather plaintive voice, "Please, sir, you 
see we heard firing, and I said as how we was 
bombarding again, but Bill Jones he climbed 
up in the porthole and looked out, and 
he yelled, 'There come the Spanish ships,' 
and when he yelled that he dug out, and we 
followed him. And that's all I knows about 
it, sir," and Mr. Mason, martinet as he tried 
to be, although almost always unsuccessfully, 
found himself suddenly summoned into his 
cabin for a few moments to look for a note- 
book or something, and when he emerged he 
dismissed the men with an exceedingly mild 
reprimand. 

Quite late in the action Captain Murphy 
found two of his men wounded. One of them, 
Private Flynn, had been hit in the back by a 
splinter, while the other, Private Barfield, had 
been hit in the leg with a flying piece of shell. 
He ordered them both to the hospital for 
examination and treatment, but both of them 
pleaded so hard to stay, and insisted they were 
not hurt badly, that their request to serve 
their gun was complied with, and they 
remained at their stations during the entire 
action. 

25 



SCHLET 386 



SCHLETS STORT. XXIII. 

ADMIRAL SCHLEY'S own story of the 
fight is told in a most unassuming, 
modest, and yet intensely graphic and inter- 
esting manner. He takes no credit for him- 
self, gives honor and glory to the captains and 
men under him, and is entirely free of the 
slightest touch of criticism or censure. The 
Admiral says: 

On July 2d the manoeuvres of the Ameri- 
can army on shore had been such as to cut off 
the movements of the Spanish to the westward 
of the port. The former had very nearly 
closed in their circle around Santiago, and the 
Spanish were beginning to abandon the hills to 
the west of the city, all the while closely fol- 
lowed up and harassed by the Cuban insur- 
gents. These movements we interpreted fairly 
and properly, and on the morning of July 2d 
we bombarded the forts again. I under- 
stood it to be a joint operation of army and 



AND SANTIAGO 387 

navy forces, and after a couple of hours' bom- 
bardment, we withdrew. I do not recall that 
on this occasion the Spanish batteries fired 
upon us during our withdrawal, as they did dur- 
ing the two previous bombardments of the 
6th and i6th of July. 

We took up our usual blockading station, 
and toward evening certain fires were observed 
on the hills toward the westward. I think 
that Mr. Graham of the Associated Press, who 
was with me, and I, counted six. They 
appeared to be signal fires. At the same time 
I noticed in the harbor a good deal of smoke 
coming up, going straight into the air, 
apparently over the hill of the Socapa. It 
looked to me very much as if the Spanish ships 
there were arranging themselves in order for a 
sortie, which seemed to be at that time one of 
the only things that probably could be done. 
I was so much impressed by this that I called 
the Vixen alongside and directed a message to 
be sent to the Commander-in-Chief that the 
movements in the harbor looked very suspicious 
to me. That message was answered, because 
we all moved into closer position that night. 
On the 26th of June I had telegraphed 



SCHLET 388 

this same information and it was then followed 
by an order from Admiral Sampson to move in 
— as we all did move in — to a closer position 
at night. I am almost certain that the message 
was brought back on this latter occasion to 
move in a little closer, as we all did. 

In connection with the same matter of sus- 
picious smoke, I sent for Captain Cook, and he 
and I had quite a conversation in regard to 
the matter of coupling up engines. He knew 
his ship perfectly, and he was always a man of 
excellent judgment and of good command; so 
we agreed, after a consultation, that with all 
boilers we could make better speed than if we 
were to couple up and continue to use the 
whole force of the engines under reduced boiler 
power. Another circumstance which controlled 
this matter was the excessive heat in these 
regions. It was almost insupportable. The 
sun shining all day upon the steel hulls of our 
vessels converted them into stoves at night, 
so that I, and I think a number of the officers 
as well, rarely went below until after the 
land breeze came from the mountains and 
made it cooler. 

We concluded it would be better not to 



AND SANTIAGO 389 

couple the engines. Captain Cook told me he 
could make eighteen and one-half knots, to 
which I replied, "If you can make eighteen 
and one-half knots you will probably be able 
to make two or three more than the Spanish 
ships can. for I am told that their bottoms are 
very foul." So I know that there was an 
apprehension in my own mind that if the fleet 
in the harbor should contemplate coming out 
soon, we should be unprepared if caught in the 
act of coupling our engines, a process which 
required fully an hour, if not more, on account 
of the peculiar coupling. It was a sort of 
cone, and the engines had to be jacked around 
into exact position, and unless the holes were 
perfectly fair it was a difficult matter to 
couple. Whilst it was a very strong coupling, 
it was an inconvenient one for quick work. 
The result was that we concluded we would 
trust to the single engines and all boiler 
power, should that be necessary. 

Of course these tandem engines heated up 
would have made it almost insupportable. The 
forward engine room was largely used by the 
boiler force to pass into it, where it was cooler 
from the updraught, and if we had used it the 



SCHLET 390 

probability is that we would have exhausted a 
good many of our engineer people, which was 
a very important consideration under the cir- 
cumstances, and was a matter that had to be 
regarded. 

July 3d broke a perfectly beautiful day. 
The skies were flecked with white clouds and 
the breeze continued a little bit longer off the 
land that morning than usual — light, it is true. 
After I had gotten my breakfast I came up to 
take a survey of the situation — to look about 
and see what could be observed with the 
glasses. We were lying at that time possibly 
four miles from the land, and I remember 
having wondered very much why the Spanish 
had permitted us to remain so close, for we 
were constantly under their batteries, and it 
was a matter of inquiry and discussion aboard 
the ship why the guns did not fire on us. 
At a quarter of nine my orderly reported to me 
that a signal had been made from the flagship 
to disregard movements, and that she had 
gone eastward. 

I looked over the ground and situation. I 
did not, of course, know where she had gone. 
I sat under an awning that we usually had put 



AND SANTIAGO 391 

into position each day as the sun rose, in order 
that the officers might collect there. I think 
we had also one forward for the men. 

Mr. Graham, Lieutenant Sears and I sat 
there discussing the smoke in the harbor, and 
Ensign McCauley was wig-wagging a few 
signals to "Jack" Philip, asking his views on 
the hill fires and the smoke, Philip responding 
that he thought them suspicious. Then the 
Chicago Record boat came along and Mr. 
Chamberlain, who was aboard her, called for 
news. I pointed to the flagship disappearing 
to the east and said to him: "Follow her up 
and you may get some," and he started after 
her. 

After having gone below for a little while I 
came back on deck with my glasses, and whilst 
I was sitting in this position, abaft on the 
hatchway, I heard a call from the forward- 
bridge, * 'Tell the Commodore that the fleet is 
coming out." That was some time after the 
men had been called to quarters. How many 
minutes I don't remember, but in the vicinity 
of 9:35, according to our time. 

The Brooklyn at this moment was lying with 
her head in toward the land in the direction of 



SCHLET 392 

Cabanas, which was a little cove to the west- 
ward and was one of the marking points that 
we used in maintaining our position. I looked 
over the starboard side and saw the enemy 
coming out of the entrance, and, realizing that 
there was very considerable time, I looked 
eastward to see the order of the ships as they 
were arranged. I saw the Texas apparently, 
I should say, a point or more abaft the star- 
board beam. My own recollection now, as 
nearly as I can state it, is that the Brooklyn's 
head was pretty nearly north-northwest, she 
being drifted around. 

The Texas appeared to me to be headed on 
some one of the easterly courses. I saw just 
ahead of her, to the left, the Iowa. She was, 
of course, to the eastward of the Texas. The 
Oregon was to the eastward of the Iowa. The 
Indiana was to the eastward of that position, 
and the Gloucester was lying in under the 
land, in the neighborhood of Aguadores. 

The New York was out of sight and out of 
signal distance with glasses. I looked at that 
in order to determine what my position in the 
action was to be. Of course if she had not been, 
I should not have given or made a signal. 



AND SANTIAGO 393 

In the meantime I had gone forward to a little 
platform that I had had constructed around 
the conning tower as my position in the battle, 
the position that I would take in order to be 
very close in with Captain Cook. I had only 
been there a moment or two when Captain 
Cook joined me. Mr. Hodgson, who was on the 
upper bridge, sang out something to the Captain 
about being connected up and all ready, and he 
at the same time said to me: "Commodore, 
they are coming right at us." "Well," I said, 
"go right for them." The helm was put aport. 
The ship was started ahead, first at half speed. 
She took her way very quickly, and when we 
headed around of course I said to Captain 
Cook, "Go ahead; full speed," and hoisted the 
signal to clear ship for action. We generally 
made that signal because there was around the 
quarter-deck and the forecastle of most of these 
ships a little temporary railing, composed 
usually of oars and rope, to keep the people 
from getting overboard, and generally an 
awning of some sort or other. That was fol- 
lowed by "Close up," or "Close action." The 
Brooklyn, as well as the other vessels of the 
squadron, charged immediately in to the 



SCHLET 394 

entrance, in accordance with the original plan 
of sinking them in the entrance or driving 
them ashore there. 

We continued directly for the head of the 
enemy's column, the idea uppermost in my 
mind being that if we could arrest them long 
enough for the battleships to close in and 
knock them to pieces, that would be our best 
point of attack. We continued on this course, 
porting and starboarding to meet the move- 
ments of the leading ship, which I assumed to 
be the flagship from a flag at her masthead, 
and I suppose from the start, as nearly as I 
can recall, we were ten to twelve minutes 
turning first with port helm and then advan- 
cing directly to the enemy. I saw the ships to 
the eastward and westward closing in. I said 
to Captain Cook: " 'Close action' or 'Close 
up' has been hoisted, and it means to keep out- 
side of a thousand yards, so as to be out 
of their effective torpedo range. Much will 
depend on this ship this day." Captain Cook 
was standing alongside of me. He said: "Yes, 
we will soon be within the cross fire of these 
ships." I said: "Yes." We had advanced 
and were firing. The first gun was fired by 



AND SANTIAGO 395 

Lieutenant Simpson, almost directly over the 
forecastle of the ship. I saw the leading ship, 
which apparently had started with the inten- 
tion of ramming, take a rank sheer to the 
westward, leaving a gap between her and the 
ship following, which subsequently proved to 
be the Viscaya. We were standing in the 
direction of the Viscaya, when she also, if she 
had been minded to ram, seemed to have 
given up the intention, and turned also to the 
westward, following the direction of the lead- 
ing ship. 

It then became apparent, as we were steer- 
ing on a diametrically opposite course, that the 
original plan had failed, and that this Spanish 
fleet, in order, and apparently at distance, had 
succeeded in passing the battleship line. The 
new feature or phase of the fight became 
immediately apparent, the first having failed. 
The disposition was to be made, then, that 
was to control the subsequent battle. Imme- 
diately Cook gave the order to port his helm. 
I did not. I should have done it in a second. 
I saw the ship's head swinging very rapidly, 
and I asked him whether his helm was hard 
aport. I think he said "Hard aport." In 



SCHLET 396 

making the turn I have never seen a ship turn 
more rapidly than she did, and her turn was 
absolutely continuous. There was no easing 
of her helm. I never saw the starboard side 
of the Texas at all. We were never across her 
bow. I only saw her port side, and she never 
approached any position that was within 600 
yards of the Brooklyn. She was so distant 
that she never entered my head at all as a 
menace or danger. We passed completely 
around the circle. 

The last range that was given was 1,100 
yards, and a feature of the nearness of the first 
Spanish ship, which has impressed itself upon 
my mind, and will never be forgotten, was that 
I could see men running from her turret to her 
superstructure deck, and I observed the day- 
light between their legs as they ran. That I 
saw with my naked eye. 

We turned immediately about, and I was 
for a long time under the impression that the 
Brooklyn's starboard engine was backed, from 
the fact that I was standing upon the starboard 
side, and upon looking astern I saw an 
unusual amount of churned water. It looked to 
me very much as if that engine had been back- 



AND SANTIAGO 397 

ing, and, though the matter was not one of 
record, as I found out subsequently, I had 
always been under the impression, or at least I 
was for some time, that that engine had 
backed. 

During the turn Mr. Hodgson very properly 
made some allusion to look out, perhaps, for 
the Texas. I do not recollect what it was; 
but there was never any colloquy of any char- 
acter between Mr. Hodgson and myself. First, 
he was too good an officer to have transgressed 
one of the plainest duties of an officer at that 
time; and, second, if he had undertaken it I 
would not have permitted it for a second. As 
I say, that is fiction. There was no colloquy. 

Before we turned, the leading ship was 
abeam, or a little abaft the beam. When we 
turned about she was ahead of us — that is, on 
the starboard bow — and all four ships and the 
forts were firing at the same time. I looked 
over and saw the forts firing. From that 
moment, for ten or fifteen minutes, was the 
most furious part of this entire combat. I 
remember seeing very distinctly from time to 
time, as my attention was attracted for the 
moment, the jets of water ahead and astern 



SCHLET 398 

and over and short, and the roar of projectiles 
was one of the things that can only be heard 
once in a lifetime, and then never forgotten. 
It appeared to me at that moment that all four 
of these Spanish ships were at work upon the 
Brooklyn; and up to that moment, up to the 
moment of turning, so far as we could per- 
ceive, there was not the slightest evidence that 
they had even been injured. The thought 
passed through my mind that after all our pre- 
cautions and waiting these fellows would get 
away. 

At that moment I felt, and remarked to 
Captain Cook, that we were alone, and would 
perhaps have most of that fight upon our- 
selves, because I did not know then that the 
battleships could possibly keep up their speed, 
but I said to him: "We must stay with this 
crowd." I had no idea that we would escape. 
I thought, of course, that if they could shoot 
as well as our people did they would certainly 
get us and sink us, because they were protected 
battleships as big as the Texas, while the 
Brooklyn was a very large target, high out of 
the water and easy to hit. 

When we had got completely turned around 



AND SANTIAGO 399 

on a westerly course, the ships of our squadron 
appeared to have become broken up a Httle, 
although still in some semblance of formation, 
and just at that moment I saw the Oregon, 
breaking in through the cloud envelope of 
smoke. She pushed through onto the starboard 
quarter of the flagship. I had hoisted the signal 
of "Close up, "and "Follow the flag," feeling 
that a new disposition was necessary, and that 
signal was replied to by the Oregon and by her 
repeated, for Captain Clark knew very well 
it was not intended for him, because he was 
following the flag, and so he repeated it to the 
other ships. 

In a very few moments after the appearance 
of the Oregon — she was at that time perhaps 
400 or 500 yards distant — these two ships, the 
Brooklyn and the Oregon, were a sheet of 
flame. I never saw such a fire, and never 
realized what rapid gun fire really meant 
before, because at that time both ships were 
masses of flame. It was within a very few 
moments after this that I noticed that the 
leading Spanish ship was evidently badly hurt, 
for she lagged astern. I saw the smoke com- 
ing out of her ports, and immediately after 



SCHLET 400 

from her hatches, and the fact that most 
impressed itself upon me was that the 
columns were going up almost straight into the 
air. I said to Captain Cook, who was always 
at my side and in my confidence, "We have 
got one. Keep the boys below informed of all 
the movements. They can't see, and they 
want to know." And he did, throughout the 
action. Every few moments messages were 
sent below to the men, and were answered 
oftentimes by cheers that we could hear 
through the ventilators. 

It appeared to be a very short interval of 
time after that that I saw a second Spanish 
ship on fire, which proved later to be the 
Oquendo. She evidently had suffered very 
severely, and she started, of course, imme- 
diately inshore, leaving the Viscaya and the 
Colon. The Viscaya at once took a leading 
position on the bow, and I thought for a 
little while that perhaps she would outfoot us. 
The Colon worked inshore, and from the time 
of the disappearance, at least the dropping 
out of the action of the two leading ships, 
until the Viscaya turned inward was a period 
of perhaps thirty minutes, during which 







■^ 



AND SANTIAGO 401 

she was abreast of the Brooklyn and the 
Oregon. 

Just before the Maria Teresa and the 
Oquendo turned in, I looked to the eastward 
and got occasional glimpses of the Indiana and 
of the Gloucester. I could not see very well 
what they were doing, on account of the thick 
clouds of smoke, but I knew that both were 
doing admirable work. 

When I saw the two Spanish ships lower 
their flag and run for shore in much distress, I 
felt that the commanding officers of our 
squadron whose ships could not be kept up to 
the pace of the fight, would turn in to the 
wrecks and take care of all survivors, not only 
saving the Spanish prisoners from the terrible 
fires on their ships created by the American 
shells, but from the insurgents along the shore, 
who were waiting for any who might make 
their way through the surf. 

About thirty minutes had elapsed from the 
turning in or the wounding of the Maria Teresa 
and the Oquendo, until the Viscaya followed 
their example. The Viscaya was a little for- 
ward of the beam of the Brooklyn, and I do 
not think over 2,300 yards distant at any 

26 



SCHLET 402 

time. She was in the most excellent target 
range, and I remember on the way out 
inquiring of a man in the top (one of the 
marines), who was under this heavy fire of 
the two ships, and he reported that he did not 
see any of the shots hitting the water; so I 
imagine from that that he meant they were 
striking the ship. 



AND SANTIAGO 403 



A WONDERFUL CHASE. XXIV. 

ADMIRAL SCHLEY C9ntinues his story 
as follows : 
On the trip outward, after the turn, I was 
very anxious about the ranges, because I did 
not want the Viscaya and the Colon to get 
out of good fighting range. Ellis, who was an 
expert man with the stadimeter, constantly 
kept his instrument on these vessels; and 
knowing exactly their heights, he reported to 
me that they were maintaining the same range. 
I thought, however, that my eye was a little 
bit more sensitive, and I said to him "No; they 
are evidently gaining." He went out from me 
the second time, and that was the last that I saw 
of him. In performing this magnificent duty 
he lost his life. I do not think he was distant 
from where I was standing over eight or ten 
feet. His brains and blood were thrown over 
a great many people and some of it reached 
me. He immediately fell to the deck, of 
course, and it was a shocking sight to men 



SCHLET 404 

who had not before seen such things. Lieu- 
tenant McCauley and Dr. DeValin were stand- 
ing between me and the tower, and they picked 
up his body and carried it to the side. I just 
happened to see them through this opening, 
and I called out to them: " No; do not throw 
that body overboard." I said to them that I 
thought one who had fallen so gallantly 
deserved to be buried as a Christian; and his 
body was laid under the lee of the forward 
turret and covered over with a blanket, and 
there kept until after the battle was over. 

Just before the Viscaya turned to run ashore 
she put her helm astarboard, apparently start- 
mg out for the Brooklyn or the Oregon, I do 
not know which. At that moment she evi- 
dently got a very severe wound, for I saw quite 
an explosion under her bow. A moment 
afterward she put her helm hard aport, turn- 
ing inshore, with smoke coming from all of her 
hatches, and I thought she was going to cap- 
size, as she had such a tremendous list to port. 
At that moment I saw a shell strike her, which 
appeared to me to rake her fore and aft, and I 
thought to myself that she would sink in deep 
water, so I told the signal officer to signal the 



AND SANTIAGO 405 

Texas to look out for her men — her people — 
and save them. The Texas, however, was too 
far astern to receive the message, and I made 
the remark at the time: "Well, Philip is 
always sensible; he needs no instructions about 
such things." 

In the tremendous part of the fight to the 
eastward all of the signal halyards of my ship 
were cut, with one exception. One of the 
speed cones, that we had hoisted in order to 
indicate speed, was cut and came very near 
striking me on the bridge. It came down in 
front of me and went overboard. 

After the Viscaya had turned in, on fire, her 
colors down, the Colon had edged inshore, 
and appeared to be following the contour 
of the coast. I thought at that time, look- 
ing astern and having seen what had hap- 
pened to her consorts, that she was looking 
for the best place she could find in order to 
end the matter at once. But from Assera- 
deros, which is a point some fifteen or sixteen 
miles west of the harbor of Santiago, to the 
Rio Tarquino is about thirty miles, perhaps, 
and I saw she was out of range. So I made 
the signal to cease firing and told Captain 



SCHLET 406 

Cook to let his men come out of the turrets 
into the cooler air and get something to eat, 
and to hurry up his men below. 

I think I went into the battle tower myself 
at that time and sang out to the men below 
that we had got all hands of them except one 
and that I thought they could be relied, upon 
to catch that other vessel. I heard a good 
deal of merriment and rejoicing. I then went 
back again on the bridge and soon realized 
that they were doing their best. There was a 
jingle to the rails and a vibration of the vessel; 
but I perceived at that time that the motions 
of the ship were very sluggish. She was roll- 
ing in rather a heavy way, and I suggested 
to Captain Cook that possibly we had some 
compartments filled and he had better look out 
for that. He said he would send the carpen- 
ter down; and it developed that one of the 
after compartments had filled with water, 
which we thought at the time was due to the 
fact that we had received some injury 
below the water line. The carpenter, as well 
as the captain, thought it unwise to attempt 
to examine the compartment until we could 
get into smoother water where we could pos- 



AND SANTIAGO 407 

sibly handle it much more readily. That, we 
decided to do. 

The ship's speed naturally came up with 
some rapidity. I think the Viscaya had run 
ashore in the neighborhood of eleven, and 
toward twelve o'clock it became very apparent 
that we were gaining upon the chase. I said to 
Captain Cook several times during the action 
that it would be a good idea to edge in a little 
closer, as we could "finish these fellows 
quicker." He replied that we had them in 
the most excellent target range, and that the 
guns of the two ships seemed to be doing 
very admirable work. We were pointing at 
that time for Tarquino Point — not Cape Cruz; 
it was Tarquino Point, a point extending to 
the southward. My idea was in steering that 
course, if the Colon kept up her speed, she 
would be obliged to come out; and at that time I 
said to Captain Cook I would get up a lot of 
extra ammunition, * * so that when we come 
into close quarters it will be a question of a 
very few minutes to knock her out." 

As we were going out, of course there 
were various signals between the Oregon 
and myself — some of a pleasant character 



SCHLET 408 

and some official. I gave Clark the order 
to open fire with his thirteen-inch guns; 
and I had always been under the impression, 
until I heard him say otherwise, that that 
order had been transmitted. That was my 
recollection. 

However, we continued to advance, the 
Oregon and the Brooklyn. I do not think 
the Oregon was ever farther astern than 800 
yards, and at times she worked up on to our 
quarter. I do not believe the prolongation of 
her course at any time would have passed 500 
yards inside of the Brooklyn. We were prac- 
tically and relatively at the same distances. 
Perhaps the Brooklyn was a little nearer at 
times, and at times the Oregon a little nearer; 
but we continued in this position until about 
12:50, when we realized that we were within 
range of the Colon, and we tried the thirteen 
and eight-inch guns on her. Several of the 
shots fell short, but I recollect a shot from 
one of the Oregon's thirteen-inch guns which 
passed entirely over the Colon, and one from 
one of the eight-inch guns of the Brooklyn 
that also passed over her. I saw with my 
own eyes the jet of water beyond, and thought 



AND SANTIAGO 409 

it had gone through her; but it appears that 
it did not strike her. 

At that time, the position of the Colon 
being directly under the fire of the two Amer- 
ican ships, there was apparently no question 
in the mind of her captain but that it would be 
fatal, and I think he did exactly right. The 
sacrifice of life would have been unnecessary. 
So he fired a gun to leeward and hauled his flag 
down, running his ship onto a bar at the mouth 
of the Rio Tarquino. I signaled at once that 
the enemy had surrendered and gave the order 
to cease firing. We hauled up and immediately 
passed into a position about a thousand yards 
from the Colon. I remember that just pre- 
vious Captain Cook asked me if we should 
slow up, and I replied, " No, continue in; you 
look out for the boat, and I will take the navi- 
gator and the first lieutenant, here, and we will 
control her otherwise." The boat referred to 
was the one desired to be used in going over 
to the Colon, and we had considerable diffi- 
culty in getting her launched, for the steam 
had been turned off, and also the cranes had 
been struck a number of times, and were more 
or less jammed. 



SCHLET 4^0 

Captain Cook went to give orders about the 
boat and to change his coat, as we were all in 
fighting rig, and it was certainly 1 130 when we 
arrived in the vicinity of the Colon. She was 
about four miles away from us when she had 
hauled down her flag, and as we were running 
then in the neighborhood of fifteen knots, 
the time elapsed would have been perhaps 
twelve or fourteen minutes, so I think from 
1:15 to 1:30 was about the interval of time. 

When this surrender took place, I naturally 
felt interested in the vessels that were follow- 
ing, and I was then on the bridge and with 
my glasses. I saw three vessels astern. I 
could see the masts of two, but only the 
smoke of the third one. We lowered our boat 
at that time and Captain Cook went aboard. 
He said to me: "Commodore, what are the 
terms of surrender?" I replied, "Uncondi- 
tional. These are matters that the Command- 
er-in-Chief must arrange. We can only 
receive unconditional surrender." 

At about twenty-three minutes after two 
o'clock the New York came up. We had dis- 
tinguished her, and I had made signals to her. 
Of course there was not very much breeze in 



AND SANTIAGO 411 

under the land to set the flags out, and she 
was quite a half hour in answering us. 

When she came up I also made the signal 
to her that it was a glorious day for our coun- 
try, and as soon as I could pay my respects, I 
went on board. 

In the meantime, Captain Cook, who had 
been detained some little time on board 
the- Colon, started off to make his report 
and, boarding the New York, did so. When 
he returned I took the boat and went on 
board the flagship myself. There I reported 
substantially what had occurred, narrating 
the incidents and features of the battle in a 
hurried way. After having made this state- 
ment to the Commander-in-Chief, a group of 
the officers, who were standing on the oppo- 
site side, came up to me and asked me about 
the details of the battle, everybody, of course, 
being interested in them, and I again rehearsed 
them in a hasty manner. 

Just then, the chaplain of the New York, 
Chaplain Royce, came up to me and said, 
"Commodore, your work is not over yet. 
The Resolute has just arrived and Captain 
Eaton reports that there is a Spanish battle- 



SCHLET 412 

ship on the coast, and the Admiral wants to 
see you." 

I went over and there I found Captain Clark in 
the presence of the Commander-in-Chief. I 
made some suggestion to the latter about 
hoisting the flag on the Colon, and said to him 
that if he had not come I was prepared to have 
sent a force of fifty or sixty men, mechanics 
and marines, on board to take possession, to 
avoid anything like "monkeying" with her. 
My impression is that I used those words. I 
said that, because in approaching her I saw 
a number of what afterward proved to be 
breechblocks that were being thrown over- 
board, and I thought that there might be some 
possibility of the Spanish injuring her piping 
below, flooding her, and so on, and that was 
the occasion of the suggestion. But as soon 
as he stated that he wished me to take the 
Oregon and go eastward and meet this ship, I 
must say that I felt some little delight, because 
I thought that after the admirable work of the 
squadron on that day, and the part the Oregon 
and the Brooklyn had in it, there was not any- 
thing that carried the Spanish colors that we 
should have hesitated to meet. So immediately 



AND SANTIAGO 413 

I started for my own ship, stopping on the 
way, I think, to get the chaplain of the Texas 
in order to bury our man who had been killed, 
and from there I went on board the Brooklyn 
and made signal to the Oregon to follow the 
flag, and started eastward at pretty high speed. 
After I had been gone some little time I saw 
that the Oregon did not follow, and I naturally 
assumed that the Commander-in-Chief had 
detained her for other work which he needed 
done. 

After I had gotten about an hour away, 
perhaps a little less, I saw coming from the 
eastward what afterward proved to be the 
Vixen, with the flag Heutenant, Lieutenant 
Staunton, on board. He came up alongside of 
and hailed me, saying that the smoke which 
I saw on the eastern horizon was that of the 
Pelayo; that he had gone close enough to 
distinguish her and make out her colors, and 
that he was sure it was the Pelayo. 

I told him to go west and inform the Com- 
mander-in-Chief, and stated that the Brooklyn 
would go east and meet the Pelayo. As we 
approached what was supposed to be the 
Pelayo, I must confess that I was a good deal 



SCHLET 414 

confused in attempting to distinguish the differ- 
ence in the two colors. She had both at her 
mastheads, and that only impressed me with 
the idea that she was cleared and in battle 
array — the difference in the color being red, 
white and red for the Austrian flag, and red, 
yellow and red for the Spanish flag, in hori- 
zontal stripes. 

We kept our battery trained upon the ship, 
and had reached a position of about 1,800 
yards, and I had just given the order to Cap- 
tain Cook to stand by. Perceiving, however, 
that we were a little too close inshore to man- 
oeuvre and that our starboard battery was 
almost entirely disabled, I ported the helm to 
get a little more room and to engage her with 
the port side, the battery of which was com- 
plete and entire. As I ported the helm she 
did the same, and that only convinced me that 
there was no question that she was looking for 
us or knew that we were looking for her. In 
a few moments my signal officer, Lieutenant 
McCauley, called to me: "She is making a 
signal." 

It was then toward dusk, and she had turned 
her searchlights up onto her flags, in order to 



AND SANTIAGO 415 

call our attention to them, which, of course, 
confused^ us; and that signal, by the code, was 
interpreted to mean that she was an Austrian. 
Of course we immediately trained our guns off 
of her and passing under her stern, stopped. 
Her commanding officer came on board. He 
was looking for some one to give him authority 
to go into Santiago de Cuba for the purpose of 
carrying away refugees and other persons who 
would desire to leave the port before the oper- 
ations of the army were entirely completed. I 
said to him that I did not believe that he 
would be permitted to go into the harbor; that 
it was mined, and that I did not think his wish 
would be granted. I advised him to keep out- 
side of the line of the blockade that night, 
inasmuch as, not having the night letter, he 
might be mistaken and fired into. 

It proved that this ship was the Infanta 
Maria Teresa of the Austrian Navy, a turreted 
ship — not a barbette ship — as the Pelayo was. 
We had pictures of these various ships about 
the Brooklyn and the men were quite famil- 
iar with the appearance of almost all the 
Spanish vessels, so that they could be easily 
recognized. I remember my attention was 



SCHLET 416 

called to the fact, as soon as we could dis- 
tinguish her turrets, that she was not the 
Pelayo at all, but that she was either the 
Carlos v., or the Cardinal Cisneros. When 
we had, after first sighting her, thus settled 
her identity we, of course, felt a great deal 
relieved, because most of us then considered 
that the fight would be quicker and easier with 
a vessel nearer the type of the Brooklyn; 
but, fortunately, we did not have to meet 
her. With the surrender of the Colon the 
battle had ended, and there were no further 
operations. 

We returned to the squadron that night. 
The Commander-in-Chief signaled to me before 
I left that he would remain and transfer the 
crew from the Colon to the vessels there, so I 
went on to the eastward, feeling that under 
the circumstances the proper position of the 
second in command would be off Santiago. 
To that place the Brooklyn went, reaching the 
squadron off the harbor between eleven and 
twelve o'clock, nearly midnight. As we were 
passing down the coast, at about half past ten, 
just as we were abreast of the Viscaya, one of 
her magazines exploded, and we said as we 




'^^ 






G 



AND SANTIAGO 417 

watched the flames in the darkness, "That is 
her final salute." 

As we approached the Indiana all those 
aboard her were very anxious to know what 
had become of the Colon. I announced her 
surrender, and that we had captured her, and 
there was great cheering. As I passed on, 
Captain Evans hailed me and said that Admiral 
Cervera was aboard the Iowa and would like 
very much to see me. I went over to see him, 
directing my men while on the way that there 
was to be no cheering, as I did not think it 
would be proper to exult over a foe who had 
fought and behaved so gallantly, and that all 
such demonstrations should be omitted, which 
was done. 

I found Admiral Cervera on the after part of 
the ship, and he was, quite naturally, greatly 
dejected. I said to him that I knew he had 
lost everything — his clothing, as well as his 
money — and that I wanted to say that the 
object of my visit was to inform him that my 
wardrobe, as well as my purse as far as that 
would go, was at his service. He replied that 
he thanked me very much, and said that he 
had never met a sailor who was not a gentle- 

27 



SCHLET 418 

man; that he was very much obhged, but that 
all he cared for was to send a dispatch to 
his government, or to the captain-general, 
announcing what had happened to his squad- 
ron. I told him that there would be no objec- 
tion whatever to that; and the dispatch which 
he sent practically announced the destruction of 
the Spanish squadron, and what he had done. 
I informed him of the fate of the Colon, and 
that telegram was sent to the captain-general. 
The one fact that impressed me most 
strongly during the day's battle was that the 
officers and the men who were engaged in that 
struggle fulfilled in the very highest and in the 
very noblest degree the traditions of the 
American Navy. 



AND SANTIAGO 419 



THE SPANISH SHIPS. XXV. 

AND the Spanish ships. Four hours from 
the time they emerged from that narrow 
harbor entrance in their shining dress of black 
paint, the golden coat-of-arms of Spain on 
their prows, and their silken flags standing out 
proudly rn the breeze, they lay shattered, 
twisted, useless hulks, stranded on the coast of 
Cuba. But grewsome as were their decks with 
mangled and mutilated men, appalling as was 
their terrible destruction, they were magnificent 
examples of the American gunner's art. Pro- 
tected in the majority of cases by eleven 
inches of steel, they had been literally riddled 
with shot; and then, as the shells had exploded 
on their decks and set fire to their magazines, 
they had, by internal explosions, completed 
their own destruction. 

The Maria Teresa had been the first to go 
ashore. She had been flying the broad pen- 
nant of Admiral Cervera, and when she came 



SCHLEY 



420 




AND SANTIAGO 



421 




SCHLET 4r2.2 

out was prepared, under his orders, to make a 
sacrifice of herself in order to let, if possible, 
the Colon and the Viscaya escape. She was 
a magnificent ship of the same type as the 
Oquendo and the Viscaya, and in armor and 
armament she was fully equal to our battle- 
ship Texas, although she was called a cruiser. 
She had turned the mouth of the harbor and 
started for the west, before she was hurt very 
badly. But then, as told by one of her own 
officers, it seemed as if every shell from the 
American squadron took effect upon her 
instantaneously. A blaze rose aft, and the 
sailors were ordered to turn a hose upon it; 
but to their dismay, a shell had cut the fire 
mains, and almost at the same moment Cap- 
tain Concas, who was near Admiral Cervera's 
side, and one of his lieutenants, were severely 
wounded. Admiral Cervera was then com- 
pelled to take charge both of the ship and the 
fleet. While heroic efforts were being made 
to stop the progress of the flames aft, a shell 
entered the cabin of Admiral Cervera and set 
that on fire. Orders were given to flood the 
magazines, but even the pipes leading to these 
had been cut, and it then became a question 



AND SANTIAGO 423 

of running for shore, so that those of the men 
who were still alive could escape from incin- 
eration, or from the ship being sunk by her 
own explosions. 

The havoc among the men was frightful. 
The chief boatswain fell on the deck near 
where Captain Concas was lying, and when he 
was picked up was found to have fourteen 
wounds. Six men working at a secondary 
battery gun were torn into such fragments that 
they were unrecognizable. A gun crew for- 
ward was blown completely off into the water, 
and everywhere the decks were running with 
blood. As soon as the ship was beached, 
orders were given for every man to jump over- 
board and take care of himself. It was 
impossible for the men to go below and get 
any clothes, and indeed those who had clothes 
— including Admiral Cervera and his son — had 
thrown off everything except their under gar- 
ments, so that they might swim through the 
surf more easily. Men who were too badly 
wounded to help themselves were shoved over- 
board, and then, in many instances, assisted 
to the shore by their comrades who were 
uninjured and in the water. The ship was 



SCHLET 424 

burning fiercely and many of the men who had 
been at the engines and boilers were consumed 
in its hellish bowels. About three hundred of 
the crew, however, managed to reach the 
shore, among them Admiral Cervera and his 
son, and the wounded Captain Concas. But 
of these many were wounded most grievously, 
and died while waiting for American relief. 

But if the Maria Teresa had had a terrible 
baptism of fire the Oquendo had fared still 
worse. She was the third ship out, and by 
the time she was ready to turn from the 
entrance she was in close combat with the 
Indiana, the Iowa, the Oregon, and the Texas, 
with the Brooklyn occasionally giving her a 
single shot. Her immense steel plates were 
bulging apart before she had turned ashore; 
there were gaping holes in her sides; her 
bridge was partially shot away, and half of her 
crew, probably two hundred and fifty, were 
killed and wounded. On her, too, the explo- 
sive shells had done their deadly work. Her 
fire mains were cut; her forward eleven-inch 
turret was out of action, with all its men dead 
inside, and she was devoid of officers. In the 
upper works the American rapid-fire guns 



AND SANTIAGO 425 

had created horrible mortality. Before the 
Oquendo had been out fifteen minutes every 
man in her superstructure was dead or 
wounded, or, impelled by excitement and fear, 
was plunging overboard. Captain Larzaza 
was killed in the first seven minutes of action; 
his executive officer Lola had hardly shouted 
his second order before a shell cut him in two. 
The third officer Matos took charge, and an 
explosion of their own ammunition by the con- 
cussion of one of our big shells, blew him in 
pieces. Successively, within a period of ten 
minutes, the next three officers in rank took 
charge of the ship, but as fast as they took 
their positions on the bridge, the rapid-fire guns 
from the American fleet mowed them down. 
Within thirty minutes the seven principal 
officers had been killed, and over one hundred 
and thirty dead bodies strewed the deck and 
superstructure, in addition to the wounded who 
lay mutilated and moaning at the breech of 
almost every gun. The forward eleven-inch 
turret had only fired three shots in the action, 
and just before the captain was shot down on 
the bridge, he had sent a messenger to inquire 
the reason for the gun's silence. In the turret 



SCHLET 426 

lay the bodies of six dead men, with barely a 
mark on them to show how they had been 
killed, while up in the little conning tower or 
hood from which the gun was sighted, was a 
headless officer. His head was not in the 
turret. It had been cutoff and had rolled out 
through the opening and onto the deck, by a 
most peculiar accident. An eight-inch shell 
had struck the turret at the point where the 
gun projects. It had been fired at a long dis- 
tance, presumably from the Brooklyn, and was 
lacking in sufficient force to penetrate the ten 
inches of steel. It had exploded, however, 
the concussion killing all the gunners inside, 
and the lire from the explosion enter- 
ing the turret. The men had started to load 
the gun and the huge mass of three hundred 
and fifty pounds of powder, which is consumed 
in firing an eleven-inch gun once, was just 
about to be placed in the breech. The powder 
ignited and blazed up, creating a great amount 
of gas. With a rush, this gas forced its way 
up into the opening of the little tower where 
the officer was sitting, pinning him to the side, 
and tearing off his head as it rushed through 
the orifice into the outer air. 



AND SANTIAGO 427 

When the ship finally ran ashore, so badly 
had the great shells cut up her hull, that she 
almost broke in two. The fire was raging so 
fiercely upon her that the men did as had 
those upon the Maria Teresa, jumped over- 
board. A great many of them reached the 
shore; some of them were dashed to pieces 
upon the coral reefs, and a number of others 
who presumably could not swim, hung by 
chains in the water near the Oquendo's head, 
almost dead from heat and fear, until rescued 
by American ships. 

In the meantime, the Gloucester, which had 
sunk one torpedo boat and sent the other 
ashore, immediately converted herself from a 
fighting ship into a life-saving vessel, and at 
once began the rescuing of such of the tor- 
pedo boats' crews as were still alive when they 
surrendered. From the torpedo boat, which 
ran ashore, some few officers and men man- 
aged to escape and join the Spanish forces 
in Santiago city. In all, about twenty or 
twenty-five men succeeded in escaping this 
way, and these were the only ones of the entire 
number of nearly two thousand in the fight 
that day, who managed to get away. 



SCHLET 428 

The Viscaya, which made a longer fight 
than her two sister ships and ran about twenty 
miles from the entrance, while horribly cut up 
by the shells of the Oregon and Brooklyn, 
would have remained fighting for some time 
had not a five-inch shell from the Brooklyn 
penetrated her bow, exploding a torpedo in 
her tubes, and blowing out the whole star- 
board side of the unprotected compartment 
forward. This was so near to the sea line 
that she took water in, the result being that 
she listed heavily to starboard, and abandoning 
her intention of ramming the Brooklyn, ran for 
the shore. Captain Eulate was wounded, but 
he still managed to retain command, and only 
a few minutes before, at the point of his 
pistol, had driven a number of his engineers 
and firemen, who attempted to leave their posi- 
tions, back to their quarters below. In fact, 
it is related, although I have no proof of the 
absolute truth of the statement, that a young 
officer, who attempted to haul down the flag, 
thinking it was time to surrender, was shot 
dead in his tracks by this same Eulate, and no 
further attempt was made to lower the colors. 
The mortality on this ship was not so great as 



AND SANTIAGO 429 

on the Oquendo, although greater than on the 
Maria Teresa. But even here it was horrible 
to behold. Several of the guns of her second- 
ary battery were dismounted and lay over- 
turned among a mass of shriveling human 
flesh. Fire was consuming the decks, and 
those who were badly wounded were shrieking 
for assistance to get away from its terrible 
grasp. Many crawled to the side and rolled 
overboard, and as we fought her we saw men 
jumping or tumbling down her sides. When 
she turned in to shore, the Iowa, which was 
about four miles astern of her, quickly fol- 
lowed her up, and lucky for the Spaniard's 
people she did, for the Cuban insurgents 
ashore began to open fire immediately upon 
the poor wretches, who, having escaped death 
by shot and shell, or drowning or mutilation 
by the surf, had succeeded in reaching the 
shore safely. The Iowa promptly sent a boat 
in, warning the Cubans to stop, under penalty 
of being fired upon themselves by the rapid- 
fire guns of the American ship. The Iowa 
remained here instead of continuing in the 
chase, and with the aid of the Hist and 
the Ericsson succeeded in rescuing over two 



SCHLET 430 

hundred of the Viscaya's crew. The Iowa 
then left and proceeded to the eastward, taking 
on board as she went down toward Santiago, 
Admiral Cervera and his son. It is stated 
that when Captain Eulate was brought aboard 
the Iowa, he offered his sword in surrender 
to Captain Evans, but that that officer gallantly 
refused to receive it, merely taking Eulate's 
parole. 

The Colon, which had run to the west and 
which managed to go a distance of forty-five 
miles before she was beached, suffered very 
little loss of life, in fact none from our gunnery, 
and the ship itself was but little damaged, a 
couple of five-inch shells from the Brooklyn 
having penetrated her superstructure. Her 
officers, however, had had severe fighting with 
their own men. They had given them an extra 
complement of liquor before they had left 
the harbor, and had divided up the money 
from the paymaster's safe, the result being that 
after the ship had once gotten out of the har- 
bor, a number of the men refused to work at 
the fires and boilers. Several of the officers 
quelled the mutiny by shooting some of the 
men dead, and when the ship surrendered six 



AND SANTIAGO 431 

bodies were found lying on the deck near the 
superstructure, with pistol bullet holes in 
them. That the officers on the Colon expected 
eventually to be captured after witness- 
ing the destruction of the remainder of their 
fleet is evidenced from the fact that they had 
their trunks packed ready to be taken off, and 
that in the boat load of officers which we 
brought over to the Brooklyn, one officer had 
strapped together all of the Colon's log books. 
I had the honor of taking these away from 
him and turning them over to Admiral 
Schley. 

Just exactly, by professional account, what 
great damage was done by the American fire 
is best evidenced by the report of a Board of 
Examination appointed by Rear-Admiral 
Sampson. This Board's report showed that 
the number of big hits — that is, of four-inch 
calibre and upward — which were to be seen 
after the fire and explosion on the ships, was 
forty. Of these forty, twenty were made by 
iive-inch shells, and the Brooklyn was the only 
ship in the squadron carrying five-inch guns. 
Every one of the Spanish ships showed hits 
from these five-inch projectiles. Eight hits 



SCHLET 432 

were made by the four-inch guns of the Iowa, 
the only ship carrying four-inch guns. This, 
of course, indicates that the Brooklyn made 
as many large hits on the Spanish ships as all 
the other ships combined. Ten hits were made 
by eight-inch guns carried by the Brooklyn, 
Iowa, Oregon, and Indiana. Two hits were 
made by twelve-inch projectiles fired only by 
the Texas and the Iowa, while of course it is gen- 
erally conceded that the Oregon scared the 
Colon ashore by firing a thirteen-inch shell 
over her. 

The record of the damages to these ships is 
a world record, and is fraught with great 
interest. The fight started at a range of 6,000 
yards, or about three miles, while at 2,000 or 
2,500 yards two torpedo boats and two cruisers 
were smashed. The closest fighting was done 
at I, roo and 1,000 yards, by the Brooklyn and 
Viscaya, with annihilating effect on the Span- 
ish ship. But two projectiles larger than eight- 
inch struck a vessel, both of these either twelve 
or thirteen-inch, being put through the Infanta 
Maria Teresa. The eight-inch, six-inch, five- 
inch and six-pounders did the bulk of the 
work, and were frightfully destructive. 




The Spanish Ofiiceks. 

1. Fernando Villaamil. 2. John Antonio Eulate. 3. Don Pedro Vazquez. 

4. Don Emilio Diaz Moreu. 5. PasQuale Cervera. 

6. Don Diego Carlier. 7. Don Victor Concas. 

8. Don Juan Bautista Lazaga. 

(xxxix) 



AND SANTIAGO 433 

Some idea of the effect can be obtained from 
a brief summary of the injuries to each ship as 
found by the Examining Board. The Board 
had upon it such capable men as Executive- 
Officer Rogers, of the Iowa; Executive-Officer 
Mason, of the Brooklyn, an expert on the 
effect of shells on armor; Lieutenant Haessler, 
of the Texas, who had made some splendid 
improvements in gun firing on that ship, and 
Assistant Naval-Constructor Hobson, of Merri- 
mac fame, who had a reputation for knowledge 
of ship construction. Briefly, these officers 
found: — 

Cristobal Colon, battleship, first-class, with 
six inches of steel for protection not only on 
the water line but around the six-inch guns. 
This ship was hit with large projectiles but six 
times, as she kept out of range nearly the whole 
time, passing behind the other ships for pro- 
tection and finally making a run for it. The 
hits were made by the Brooklyn and Oregon. 
One eight-inch shell went into the port side of 
the ward room, and left on the starboard side 
without exploding, but cleaned out everything 
in the room. A five-inch shell hit just above 
the armor belt, and a five-inch shell struck her 

28 



SCHLET 434 

on the bow. None of the injuries was sufficient 
to put her out of action, and they were not as 
serious as those received by the Brooklyn, at 
one time her sole antagonist. The statement 
that the Brooklyn was overhauling her, and 
that the Oregon's terrific thirteen-inch guns 
were shooting nearer and nearer, and that 
escape was impossible, seems to explain her 
surrender. 

The Viscaya, armored cruiser of same class 
as battleships Texas and Maine, two eleven and 
one-half inch guns and ten five and one-half 
inch guns, with protections ten and twelve 
inches thick, double and treble that of the 
Brooklyn. This ship was the special prey of 
the Brooklyn and the Oregon, although the 
Iowa, after her destructive work on the 
Oquendo and Teresa, aided a little at long 
range. The Viscaya, exclusive of one-pounders 
and rapid-fire hits, which swept her deck, was 
hit with large projectiles fourteen times and six- 
pounders eleven times. The eight-inch guns of 
the Brooklyn and Oregon and five-inch on the 
Brooklyn tore her structure above the armor 
belt almost into shreds, while the six-pounders 
and one-pounders made it too warm for the 



AND SANTIAGO 435 

men to stand at the guns. The Texas got in a 
few six-inch shots, and the Iowa landed a 
couple of four-inch shells. No thirteen or 
twelve-inch shells struck her. 

The Infanta Maria Teresa, the flagship, of 
the same build as the Viscaya, was badly pun- 
ished, and was the only one of the four ships 
hit by twelve or thirteen-inch projectiles. Two 
of that size went into her, and the position of 
one would tend to demonstrate that it was fired 
by the Texas, the other being from the Indiana, 
Oregon or Iowa. An eight-inch shell, undoubt- 
edly from the Brooklyn, because she was the 
only ship in line with the Maria Teresa's head 
as she turned west, entered just forward of the 
beam on the port side, and exploding inside, 
cleaned out the deck with four gun crews. 
This is the shot that Cervera said came from 
the Brooklyn and set fire to the ship. The 
Teresa's great difficulty and one that com- 
pelled her hurried surrender was that all her 
lire mains were cut and she was unable to 
extinguish the fires that were driving her 
men from the guns. 

The Almirante Oquendo, armored cruiser, 
same class as the Viscaya and the Teresa, 



SCHLET 436 

went through the most terrible baptism of fire 
of any of the ships except the torpedo boats. 
Her upper works were one ragged mass of cut- 
up steel, and her decks were covered with 
dead and dying. She was hit on the port side 
four times by eight-inch shells, three times by 
four-inch shells, twice by six-inch, and forty- 
two times by six-pounders. The wounds made 
by one-pounders show that she met the fire of 
the entire fleet. 

One of the findings of the Board of Survey 
was that an eight-inch shell had struck the for- 
ward turret just where the gun opening was, 
and that every man in the turret was killed, 
the officer standing in the firing hood being 
still in that position. Another fact learned 
was that the torpedoes in some of the ships 
were already loaded in the tubes and prepared 

to fire. 

"The secondary battery fire of the Brook- 
lyn was really terrible. It drove my men from 
their guns, and when you were at close range 
did frightful work," said Captain Eulate, two 
days after Schley's defeat of the Spanish 
squadron; and a rescued officer of the Oquen- 
do said that nearly one-half of the terrible 



AND SANTIAGO 437 

damage to that ship was done by our one and 
six-pounders, which constitute the secondary 
battery. 

The injuries, so far as the American fleet 
was concerned, received during the fight were 
mainly confined to the Brooklyn. It was on 
this ship that one man was killed and several 
wounded, and the ship itself was hit twenty- 
six times directly by projectiles. The Texas 
was struck three times by small shells, doing 
no particular damage. The Indiana was struck 
twice by six-pounders and not hurt, while the 
Iowa was struck by two large projectiles and 
three of smaller calibre. 



SCHLET 438 



VICTOR AND VAN^ISHEB. XXVI. 

WHEN, following the chase of the Aus- 
trian cruiser, Commodore Schley 
returned? with the Brooklyn to Santiago 
entrance, the night of July 3d, it was mid- 
night. Passing the Indiana as we moved down 
to our position, there came a hail through the 
megaphone: 

"Brooklyn, there, what's become of the 
Cristobal Colon?" There went back the 
answer: "She's ashore; forty miles to the 
west." And from the deck of the big battle- 
ship there arose a mighty cheer. 

Then the Massachusetts, which had been 
cheated out of her share in the battle by being 
sent to coal that morning, asked the same 
question, and on that ship also the sailors 
who had not taken part in the fight and who 
were waiting up for news, joined in the 
enthusiastic and noisy welcome. 

As we neared the Iowa there came a similar 



AND SANTIAGO 439 

hail, which we answered in the same manner. 
Much to our surprise, there was not a cheer. 
We were a little puzzled for a few minutes, 
when suddenly there came a megaphone call 
from an officer on the Iowa, saying: "Admiral 
Cervera is aboard this ship," and then we 
understood that the chivalry of officers and 
men aboard her had prompted them to keep 
silence. Commodore Schley, as soon as pos- 
sible, took a boat, and in the absence of 
Admiral Sampson, went over to the Iowa. 
When he arrived there he found Admiral Cer- 
vera chatting with Captain Eulate, who was 
also a prisoner aboard. The vanquished 
Admiral was dressed in a suit of clothes which 
had been given him on board the Gloucester, 
and which consisted of a pair of blue trousers, 
a black alpaca coat, a civilian shirt and a 
white straw hat. He had been very busy all 
the afternoon and evening going about among 
the wounded asking their condition and 
endeavoring to cheer them up, at the same time 
thanking them for the gallant assistance they 
had rendered Spain that day. He had also 
assisted in the burial of five or six who had 
died since being brought aboard. 



SCHLET 440 

As Commodore Schley entered the cabin of 
the Iowa he stepped forward briskly toward 
Cervera, and the Spanish Admiral rose from 
his chair to receive him. The two men 
grasped hands, and it is hard to say which of 
the two was the more affected. But, before 
Schley could speak further than to give a sal- 
utation of "How do you do, Admiral," the 
defeated officer said: "If we could have 
passed the Brooklyn I believe we could have 
gotten away. My orders to concentrate and fire 
on the Brooklyn were carried out, but your 
ship has a charmed life, sir. My career is 
ended. I shall go back to Spain in disgrace." 

This was said by Admiral Cervera in 
French, the international naval language; but 
Schley, putting his hand upon Cervera's shoul- 
der, said in the purest Castilian: "No, 
Admiral, you are a brave man. Your country 
will honor you as it should." 

I don't think it was the sentiment expressed 
as much as it was the surprise at the pure 
Spanish spoken, but Cervera's eyes filled with 
tears for a moment, and then the two men 
went on talking in Spanish, the lighting up of 
their faces showing they were both forgetting 



AND SANTIAGO 441 

the terrible strain of the day, the one his 
defeat and the other his victory, in their 
exchange of personal compliments. 

Before Commodore Schley left the Iowa to 
go back on board the Brooklyn, Admiral Cer- 
vera asked permission to send a dispatch to 
his government announcing his defeat. Here 
is the telegram which he wrote and which 
Commodore Schley had forwarded for him: 

Playa Del Este (Santiago). 
I went out with the ships at 9:30 and sus- 
tained a very hot battle with the enemy. The 
defense was brilliant, but it was impossible to 
fight against the hostile forces, which were 
three times as large as ours. The Maria 
Teresa, Oquendo, and Viscaya, all with fire 
on board, ran ashore and were then blown up. 
The destroyers Pluton and Furor were sunk 
by shots from the hostile guns. The Colon, 
the Americans say, surrendered after running 
aground. I estimate our losses at 600 killed 
and wounded. The rest of the crews have 
been taken prisoners. Villaamil was killed in 
the battle; I believe also Lazaga. Among 
the wounded are Concas and Eulate. The 
Americans have allowed the latter to retain 
his sword because of his brilliant conduct. I 
must state that the American sailors are treat- 
ing us with all possible consideration. 

Cervera. 



SCHLET 442 

The next day, July 4th, was spent very 
quietly by the fleet in front of the harbor, 
except that at noon the national salute was 
fired, to which foreign vessels in the vicinity 
responded, with the exception of a German 
who paid no attention to us. The Brooklyn 
proceeded to Guantanamo, and arriving at that 
bay we obtained the services of the chaplain of 
the Texas and buried young EUis. He was 
wrapped in his country's flag and placed in a 
very respectable looking casket manufactured 
aboard the Brooklyn. Followed by a squad 
of marines and a detail of sailors, the body 
was taken ashore. Nearly all the officers 
of the Brooklyn who could be spared from 
duty, and several officers from other ships 
lying in the harbor, reverently attended the 
burial of the only man who had been killed on 
the American side in this wonderful contest. 
A grave was dug near where the marines were 
buried who had been killed early in June when 
the first landing was made in Cuba, and here 
on the nation's birthday Ellis was buried, the 
body there to remain until such time as it 
could be taken to his native heath. 

On the following day Commodore Schley 



AND SANTIAGO 443 

paid a lengthy visit to Admiral Cervera on 
board the St. Louis, which was then prepar- 
ing to take the Spanish captives up to Annap- 
olis and Portsmouth. For over an hour 
these two gray-headed men, the victor and the 
vanquished, sat side by side and chatted of 
sunny Spain, of America, which Cervera had 
seen very little of, of their various cruises and 
their varied experiences. 

Captain Eulate had by this time begun to 
show a great deal of feeling in the matter and 
had practically refused to give any parole. A 
marine guard was therefore ordered to watch 
him and see that he made no attempt to 
escape. Lieutenant of Marines Thomas S. 
Borden, of the Brooklyn, was in charge of 
this detail and took such good care of the 
wounded officer that he at last consented to 
give a brief description of his manoeuvres. 
Captain Eulate said to Mr. Borden: 

' 'The entire squadron was ordered to devote 
the fire of the guns to the cruiser Brooklyn, 
because it was beHeved that she was the only 
ship in the American squadron that could 
overtake us. 

' 'When we got out of the harbor my ship 



SCHLET 444 

was second in line, and I saw immediately 
that the flagship Maria Teresa was getting a 
terrible baptism of fire. It was frightful. The 
Texas and the Brooklyn were riddling her, 
and in fifteen minutes I saw she was on fire. 
The Iowa and Oregon were firing on the 
Oquendo, but as yet I had not been badly hit. 

"The Brooklyn was a half mile closer to us 
than any other ship, and I determined to try 
and ram her so that the Colon and Oquendo 
could get away, and I started for her. She 
was a good mark with her big broadsides, and 
as I started I thought surely I would get her, 
but she had evidently seen us and very quickly 
turned about and, making a short circle, came 
at our port side so that I thought she would 
ram us. I moved in toward the shore so that 
I could avoid her, and then I saw that the 
Oquendo had gone ashore also, her steam 
pipes evidently having been severed by a 
shell. 

"The manoeuvre of the Brooklyn was beau- 
tiful. We opened a rapid fire at her with all 
our big guns, but she returned it with terrible 
effect. The Oregon also hit us several times, 
but the Brooklyn's broadsides, crashing into 



AND SANTIAGO 445 

our superstructure, simply terrorized the men. 
We worked all our guns at her at one time, 
and I don't see how she escaped us. She 
simply drove us in to the shore, at one time 
fighting us at i,ioo yards. One shell went 
along the entire gun deck, killing half the men 
on it and wounding nearly all the rest. 

"A shell from the Oregon hit the super- 
structure, and it was then that, wounded and 
knowing we could not get away, I struck the 
flag and started for the beach. We were on 
fire badly, and when those men who were 
alive started to swim for shore the Cubans on 
shore shot at us until the American ships 
arrived and stopped them. 

"The Brooklyn had prevented me from get- 
ting away, for I could have beaten the Ore- 
gon out, as I had a two-mile lead of her. My 
orders were to try and sink the Brooklyn, and 
I tried to carry them out. I did not think 
that her battery could be so terrible as it 
was." 

Admiral Cervera himself prepared a sum- 
mary of the battle, which was forwarded to 
Spain and from which translations have been 
made. The report is brief and lacking in 



SCHLET 446 

detail, but it is interesting as showing the 
attention to some minor incidents which this 
brave officer gave under such a terrible 
destroying fire. He says: 

"In obedience to your orders, in the face of 
that which would have happened, and of 
which you were informed, I left the bay of 
Santiago for sea on the 3d day of July. The 
order for sailing was established as follows: 
In the first place the Infanta Maria Teresa 
sailed to sea, followed subsequently by the 
Viscaya, Colon, and Oquendo, and finally the 
destroyers, all having fires spread and dis- 
posed for the highest speed. The Maria 
Teresa should undertake the combat, leading 
the other vessels to the westward, the destroy- 
ers keeping themselves out of action, all 
endeavoring to escape if combat was impossi- 
ble. The Maria Teresa commenced a sus- 
tained fire against two vessels, one of the 
Indiana type, steering toward the Brooklyn, 
which was at the right of the entrance of the 
bay, and which was the vessel most dreaded on 
account of her speed. The rest of our ships 
attacked the other hostile vessels. 

"The departure of our squadron having been 



AND SANTIAGO \\'J 

effected," continues tne Admiral, "we steered 
the prearranged course in view of the disad- 
vantages that existed for us, which became 
evident as soon as the exit had been accom- 
phshed. The enemy's fire produced terrible 
damages on board the Infanta Maria Teresa, 
destroying the elements of defense — among 
others the net for protection against fire. In 
this critical moment the captain of the ship, 
Senor Concas, fell wounded, and it was nec- 
essary to withdraw him, I taking command of 
the vessel, because it was impossible to find 
the second commandant of the Maria Teresa. 
Immediately afterward they reported to me 
that my cabin was burning in consequence of 
an explosion. The fire soon became very 
great and ignited other parts of the ship. I 
gave orders to my aid to flood the after maga- 
zines, but it was impossible. Dense clouds of 
smoke impeded walking in the passages and 
practicing any kind of operations. In this 
situation I could only think of beaching the 
ship, and did so, running aground on Punta 
Cabra. The contest was impossible on our 
side, and there was nothing more to be done 
but to save as much as possible. I thought 



SCHLET 44B 

to lower the flag but that was not possible on 
account of the fire, which prevented all opera- 
tions. In these anxious moments two boats 
came to the aid of the Maria Teresa, into 
which a number of us jumped. Those that 
were not dying were saved with nothing. 

"The Teresa lowered a small boat, 
which sank before it could be of any service. 
Subsequently they succeeded in getting down a 
steam launch, but this also sank after making 
one voyage to the beach. I succeeded in saving 
myself with nothing, two sailors helping me, 
one named Andres Sequeros and the officer, 
D. Angel Cervera, all of us arriving on board 
the American ship Gloucester naked. 

"At a short distance to the westward was 
the Oquendo in flames, but maintaining a fire 
against the enemy's enormously superior 
forces. 

• ' On board the Gloucester there were some 
200 Spanish sailors, to whom the American 
officers and privates gave every attention. 
Most of our sailors arrived on board naked. 
In view of the great number of prisoners on 
board of said vessel, it was decided to trans- 
fer some of them, which they did, taking me 




Gifts Presented to Admiral Schley. 
(xl) 



AND SANTIAGO 449 

and others to the Iowa. The insurgents 
offered their services, but I thanked them 
without accepting their offer, though I indi- 
cated that it would be convenient if they would 
advise the doctors to assist the wounded that 
might be found on the beach. In this situa- 
tion "we were proceeding to the westward when 
the Iowa was detached from the American 
squadron. 

' 'The captains of the destroyers also gave 
me an account of that which occurred on their 
vessels. At our arrival on board the Iowa I 
saw the captain of the Viscaya, Senor Eulate, 
who wore his sword and who gave me a 
report of what had occurred on his vessel. 

"From the armored ship Iowa we went on 
board the transport Paris. In this vessel I 
asked permission of Commodore Schley to 
telegraph you, communicating the telegram 
already known. 

"From the text of the report I have only 
to rectify one error. The Pluton was not sunk, 
but was beached. 

"It remains to communicate to you that 
our enemies behaved toward us with great 
chivalry, providing us with good clothes and 

29 



SCHLET 450 

suppressing almost entirely the usual hurrahs, 
to prevent hurting our self respect, and offer- 
ing to us the most anxious solicitude. 

"I do not know the number and details of 
the loss sustained. 

"Summary — The 3d of July has been to us 
a horrible disaster, as I had foreseen. The 
number of the dead, nevertheless, is less than 
what I feared. The country has been defended 
with honor, and the satisfaction of the duty 
done leaves our conscience tranquil, with 
nothing more than the grief for the loss of our 
companions and the misfortune of our coun- 
try." 

A still more interesting account of the squad- 
ron of Spain, because it includes the move- 
ments of the fleet inside the harbor up to the 
time that Admiral Cervera decided to escape, 
was given by Lieutenant-Commander Cen- 
trones of the Cristobal Colon, the morning 
following the fight while he was aboard the 
converted yacht Vixen. It was dictated in 
French to Chief-Engineer Stanford E. Moses 
of the Vixen, and by him translated exclusively 
for my benefit. Here is the story: 

"It is not true that the heavy fire of the 



AND SANTIAGO 451 

American ships drove us out. Besides the 
accident to the Reina Mercedes we had no cas- 
ualties. The dynamite shells of the Vesuvius 
did no damage except to terrorize the people. 
A shell did not strike or hit near the base of 
the fort. We arrived at Santiago May 19th, 
We did not know that our whereabouts was a 
secret. We made no attempt to hide or to cover 
up our plans. We simply took easy stages to 
get to Cuba. It was very hot in the harbor 
and we suffered greatly. We made no 
attempt to get out and did not use our torpedo 
boats, as all our machinery was defective and 
we were trying to repair it. The frequent 
bombardment by American ships resulted in 
quite a loss of life, but did little other dam- 
age. The batteries were not harmed to any 
extent. It is not true that we dismounted our 
ship guns. The Reina Mercedes' guns were 
all on the fort when Commodore Schley 
arrived at Cienfuegos and we started to get 
out. The news had come too late, as Schley 
had left a couple of his ships to act as decoys 
before Cienfuegos and in the meantime had 
come down here. On Sunday morning, May 
29th, we found Schley blocking our way out. 



SCHLET . 452 

It was then Cervera's intention to come out and 
give battle, but General Linares and the citi- 
zens objected and we stayed." 

"What about the Hobson expedition?" was 
asked. 

"Well, we were very much surprised and at 
the first alarm believed that a torpedo boat 
attack v/as going on. The shore batteries 
opened up and the ships used their rapid-fire 
guns. The dynamos were not going, how- 
ever, and we had no searchlights, so that we 
could not find the object. We did not sink 
her with our batteries or our mines. She 
sank herself with her own torpedoes by blow- 
ing out her bottom. Admiral Cervera, in mak- 
ing an inspection of shore batteries in a steam 
launch a little later, found Hobson swimming 
in the entrance of the harbor and trying to get 
out to sea. On being picked up Hobson asked 
that his men be saved. Hobson had on 
a life preserver and was not on a raft as stated, " 
Then Mr. Centrones began the most interesting 
part of his narrative, that relating to the move- 
ments of Cervera. He said: "Admiral 
Cervera, after the arrival of a great Ameri- 
can fleet, did not believe it wise to go out 



AND SANTIAGO 453 

and try to fight it. He argued that the best 
policy was to hold the harbor against the 
enemy and be ready by an enfilading fire over 
the hilltops to drive back the invading army. 
At first people in Santiago believed this wise, 
but as provisions ran short and dispatch after 
dispatch came from Madrid it was found that 
public sentiment demanded a naval battle. On 
Saturday last a conference was called on the 
flagship Maria Teresa and all the officers of 
the fleet were present. Cervera announced 
his intention of going out and it was decided 
to try it that night. Just after dark and after 
the ships had got up their anchors ready to 
start, beacon lights were seen on the western 
hill and it was decided that the American fleet 
had been warned of our intention and would 
close in on us. In addition it was found that 
the searchlights flashed in the distance from 
the American ships would prevent us steering 
by the Merrimac. It was afterward, too late, 
learned that the supposed signal lights were 
insurgents burning up blockhouses. 

"The order of coming out and the tactics to 
be used were these: The Maria Teresa, carry- 
ing Admiral Cervera's flag, was to go first, and 



SCHLET 454 

then was to follow the Viscaya, the Oquendo, 
and the Cristobal Colon. The torpedo boat 
destroyers Furor and Pluton were to come out 
last and run inside of the ships, which were to 
hug the shore to the west. The west end of 
the blockading station was chosen because it 
was thought that the Brooklyn, being light in 
protection, would be the easiest to sink, and 
as she was fast would be better out of the 
way." 

Then one of the other officers added: "We 
never thought that the Brooklyn's battery was 
so terrible and that she would attempt to fight 
all of us. She was a frightful sight when all 
her guns were going." 

Continuing the commander said: '*0n Sun- 
day morning the lookouts reported that the 
Massachusetts, New Orleans, and New York 
were not in sight, and it was concluded that it 
was a good time to make the start. We were 
the last ship out and we saw at once that the 
Brooklyn, Texas, and Oregon were doing 
dreadful work with the two leading ships. 
That is all I know of the battle, except that 
two five-inch shells from the Brooklyn went 
through us and an eight-inch shell from the 



AND SANTIAGO 455 

Oregon hit us in the stern. We saw no other 
ships than those in the last two hours, but we 
had to make such a long detour in going out 
that we thought best to surrender." 

He waited a moment and then said: "Bras- 
sey's Naval Annual puts the Oregon down at 
fifteen knots, but she was doing more than 
that when she chased us." 

Captain Concas of the flagship Maria Ter- 
esa, who was wounded during the action, has 
since written a report of the entire operations 
of the Spanish fleet, which follows very closely 
the details presented by the other officers. 
But he expresses a very decided belief that if 
the methods employed with the Colon after 
her surrender and which were designed to save 
her, had had a little more common sense 
injected into them they would have resulted in 
her being added to the United States Navy. 
Captain Concas says in his report: 

"The Cristobal Colon was less fortunate 
than any of the others, for, although going at 
a rate of speed of thirteen knots, she ran 
ashore on sand; and if Admiral Sampson, with 
a more seamanhke spirit, had ordered the 
divers to close the valves, he could most cer- 



SCHLET 456 

tainly have saved the cruiser, but with fever- 
ish impatience he towed her off with his own 
flagship, the New York. Hardly had the ship 
been floated when she began to Hst, at which 
moment, with great dexterity, he pushed the 
Colon back again with the ram of his own 
ship toward the sandy shoal, but it was too 
late, and, turning over, that noble cruiser 
went to the bottom of the sea. The few 
Americans and Spaniards who were still on 
board hastily saved themselves." 

We could never complete this chapter if 
we were to relate the innumerable acts of 
courage, but I cannot do less than to mention 
one which I saw with my own eyes. The 
Maria Teresa had already been abandoned, 
the flames mounting up to the height of the 
funnels, and projectiles exploding on all sides, 
and when everybody thought that no living 
soul was left on the ship, suddenly a man 
appeared there calling for help. Instantly Jose 
Casado cried, "I will not let that man die!" 
and threw himself into the water. He climbed 
up the blood-stained sides of the ship, seized 
the man, carried him down on his shoulders 
and, swimming with him to the shore, laid 



AND SANTIAGO ^S7 

his burden on the beach. It was hardly pos- 
sible to believe that that shapeless form was 
a man with fourteen wounds, who must have 
been left aboard as dead. 



SCHLET 458 



CLOSING INCIDENTS. XXVII. 

THE destruction of the Spanish fleet 
naturally meant the inability of Spain 
to provision its starving army in Cuba, and 
therefore meant that the end of the war 
was in sight. The army quickly took this 
view of the matter, and shore operations were 
conducted so rapidly with the aid of the Navy — 
so far as General Shafter could induce Admi- 
ral Sampson to assist him — that within two 
weeks Santiago had surrendered and the Span- 
ish government was beginning negotiations for 
peace. 

Commodore Schley spent his time between 
the harbor front of Santiago and Guantanamo 
bay. The four weeks we were there were 
long and tedious, although there were several 
incidents that broke their monotony somewhat. 
On the night of July 4th the Massachusetts, 
the crew of which was very much disgusted 
because of their failure to be in the fight, got 



AND SANTIAGO 459 

into a little scrap of their own, from which 
they emerged most successfully. It seems that 
the Spanish in Santiago, taking pattern by our 
attempt to sink the Merrimac and blockade 
their fleet, decided that they would sink the 
Reina Mercedes, an old and dilapidated cruiser 
which had been their principal naval defense 
around the southern coast of Cuba for many 
years. Stripping her of all her important 
armament and the then, of course, very 
scarce provisions, an engineer's crew and her 
captain started to sink her in the narrow neck 
of the channel. Hardly had her nose pro- 
jected from behind the green hills when the 
Massachusetts saw her and in an instant the 
searchlights were turned full upon her, for it 
was dusk. Then the Massachusetts, assisted 
by the Texas, opened fire at once. Because 
of the short time that they knew they 
would have in which to sink her, both ships 
used their great guns, the Massachusetts her 
thirteen-inch and the Texas her twelve-inch. 
Marvelous though the shooting of the 3d 
of July had been, this was more so. The 
ships were fully three miles away from their 
target, and yet the very first shell fired from 



SCHLET 460 

the Massachusetts went crashing clean through 
her. The Texas followed with a twelve-inch 
and the Massachusetts kept up a fusilade with 
an eight-inch. The officers and crew of the 
Spanish ship were so startled by the prompt- 
ness and precision of this reception, that they 
immediately jumped overboard, leaving the 
cruiser to take care of itself, and she per- 
formed just about the same feat as the Merri- 
mac before her had, running up on the shoal 
by the side of the harbor and not obstructing 
the channel at all. 

An incident of some importance was the 
filing of the reports to the government by the 
various ofBcers of the squadrons and ships. 
Commodore Schley prepared his report and 
on the 8th of July took it to Admiral 
Sampson. In this report he detailed the fact 
that he had seen the Texas, the Iowa, and 
the Oregon, and of course his own ship, the 
Brooklyn, but "the dense smoke of the com- 
bat shut out from my view the Indiana, and 
the Gloucester; but as these vessels were 
closer to the flagship no doubt their part in 
the conflict was under your immediate obser- 
vation." 



AND SANTIAGO 461 

Commodore Schley returned to the Brook- 
lyn again, and a Httle later, after Admiral 
Sampson had evidently read the report, 
there came over a wig-wag message for the 
Commodore to report aboard the New York. 
Rear-Admiral Sampson handed him back his 
report with the statement that he was the 
Commander-in-Chief, and that Commodore 
Schley's report was slighting him in not men- 
tioning that the New York was present during 
the fight. Commodore Schley said to him: 
-I have no objection to putting the New York 
in. The victory is big enough for us all, and 
I'll take it back and write it over again." 
And then this big-hearted man brought back 
his report aboard the Brooklyn and re-wrote 
it, addressing it to the Commander-in-Chief 
and using the words -your command" all 
through it and speaking in complimentary 
terms of the arrival of the New York. 

On the afternoon of the 8th we weni with 
the Brooklyn to the westward and exammed 
each of the wrecks except that of the Colon. 
The fires aboard of them had burned out and 
we went aboard the Viscaya and the Maria 
Teresa. They were pitiful sights, these huge 



SCHLET 462 

ships, their hulls burned a dirty brown in the 
intense heat, and their interiors a mass of 
wreckage. Commodore Schley stood on the 
deck, or what was left of the deck, of the 
Maria Teresa and shook his head sadly as he 
said, "Oh, the pity of it." 

Two days later a boat's crew, with diving 
apparatus, was sent from the Brooklyn to 
examine the Infanta Maria Teresa, the flag- 
ship of Admiral Cervera. Among the terrible 
wreckage made by the big guns and the 
exploded magazines they found a standard 
compass, by which the ship was steered and 
which had tumbled down with the bridge. It 
was heavy, but they brought it over and, by 
permission of Captain Cook, presented it to 
Commodore Schley. 

It was a curious sight to see these seamen, 
bubbling over with affection for the Com- 
modore, shuffle onto the quarter-deck where 
Commodore Schley was reading. One man 
represented the entire crew. Two others 
followed, carrying the compass. They stepped 
close to the Commodore and then the spokes- 
man, in a stammering way, said: "Sir, the 
crew would like to make you a present." 



AND SANTIAGO 463 

Schley was on his feet in an instant, his 
glasses in his hand and his paper on the deck. 
The spokesman hesitated. 

"Well, my men," said the Commodore, 
with an encouraging smile, and the spokesman, 
hitching at his trousers, continued: "We 
found this compass on the Spanish Admiral's 
ship, and we thought as how we would like to 
give it to you to remember how you whipped 
them." 

"I am much obliged to you," said the Com- 
modore, with a tremor in his voice, "but the 
great credit of that victory belongs to you boys 
—the men behind the guns. Without you no 
laurels would come to our country. Thank 
you." 

There were three hearty cheers from the 
men, and then Gunner's-Mate Donnelly 
touched his cap and blurted out, ' ' We hope, 
sir, as how you'll steer a straighter course than 
the other fellow who owned it," and there was 
another approving cheer as the men dispersed. 

With his eye bejeweled with a tear, the 
Commodore said, as he turned away, "I'd 
rather have a thing like this than the adula- 
tion of my entire country." 



SCHLET 464 

On Monday the i ith of July, in order to con- 
vince the enemy in Santiago that they were 
entirely surrounded by the army ashore and 
the navy afloat and that our great guns could 
reach them, we began a very unique and curi- 
ous sort of bombardment. Santiago city lay 
six miles back of the harbor neck and about 
four and one-half miles from any straight line 
drawn from the coast. The fleet had to keep 
out from the shore line fully a mile to a mile 
and a half to avoid the shallows, and so, to fire 
into Santiago city meant in the first place to 
throw the immense shells over hills 210 feet 
high and a distance of about six miles at a 
hidden city. The army placed a man with a 
wig-wag flag and strong glasses on the high 
hill commanding the city, with orders to keep 
us informed of the fall of our shells. Again 
the Commander-in-Chief was absent and Com- 
modore Schley took charge. The Indiana, 
the Texas, and the Brooklyn moved down to a 
point about two miles east of the harbor 
entrance, to a point which they believed to be 
almost on a straight line with the city. 
Throwing some of their heavy guns over to 
port so as to give the ships a list and elevate 



AND SANTIAGO 465 

the starboard guns a little more, they began to 
fire slowly. The first few shots did not go into 
the city, but with the aid of the signal man 
the range was very soon obtained and for a 
couple of hours, this fleet, out of sight of the 
citizens of Santiago, dropped shells almost 
exactly where they pleased in this hidden city. 

The report of the effect of these shells is 
interesting, and it here follows: 

"Twelve houses were completely wrecked 
inside and one house was burned. Sixteen 
eight-inch shells struck within three blocks on 
the Calla De Mariana. These excavated the 
ground to a depth of about four feet and to a 
length of about ten feet. The street was macad- 
amized. It is judged from the fact that 
many of them struck near the water's edge 
that a number of the shells must have gone 
into the water. Army officers have stated that 
thirty or forty went beyond the northern edge 
of the bay into the Spanish lines. 

"A dozen or more of the shells had not 
exploded. In four of them the base had been 
simply blown out. In one case a four-inch 
shell, which was probably a stray shell fired 
during the demonstration at Aguadores on July 

80 



SCHLET 466 

1st, had gone through a tree and had exploded 
in the ground beyond. When the severe 
effect of the eight-inch shell is considered, itis a 
matter for congratulation that it was not neces- 
sary to continue the bombardment longer and 
fire thirteen-inch shells, as the squadron had 
prepared to do. The effect of these latter 
would undoubtedly have been of a most disas- 
trous character to the town." 

The same operation was continued on Tues- 
day, the nth, by the New York and the 
Brooklyn, and on the 14th, the city surren- 
dered. The remainder of the time, up to the 
14th of August, when we were ordered home, 
was spent in patroling and visiting the earth- 
works ashore and the city, and in patching up 
the ship preparatory to our return home. 

The return of Hobson was made an occasion 
for rejoicing by the fleet. Preparations were 
made for the sending of a squadron to the coast 
of Spain under Commodore Watson, and this 
occasioned some little excitement, but its 
abandonment came almost simultaneously 
with the announcement, so it was but a ripple. 

The departure of the Texas on the 26th 
for home, the first one of the ships to be 



AND SANTIAGO 467 

detached, woke everybody to a state of great 
enthusiasm, and as she left in the evening, 
each ship cheered her. 

In the meantime came the news of the 
signing of the peace protocol, and on Sunday 
morning, the 14th of August, we started for 
home as a squadron, under the command of 
Rear-Admiral Sampson. 

What a happy crowd we were, to be sure; 
and the happiest among us was Commodore 
Schley. Many a man on these ships had no 
hearthstone of his own to come to, but the 
fact that we were coming back to our own 
country, to the United States, was joy enough 
The man who had won the fight at Santiago 
was one of these. 

Since Schley had entered the Navy in 1856 
he has been practically homeless so far as 
permanent domicile is concerned. Always a 
sea fighter, always seeking and securing assign- 
ments for active duty on shipboard rather 
than soft billets ashore, as is natural with 
a man who has served his country for forty- 
five continuous years, in which he has had to 
risk his life many times, Admiral Schley has 
had little time for home building. And 



SCHLET 468 

yet the hero of the battle of Santiago is as 
dear a lover of home and family as any citizen 
of these United States who, by continual 
residence in one settled place, has been able to 
surround himself with the luxuries and com- 
forts which make a home. 

It might be said that Admiral Schley's home 
has been the quarter-deck or the cabin of 
a United States warship. But that is not 
true. He has doubtless enjoyed his long 
cruises, and he is a man who enjoys, if he 
does not court, danger, and he is a lover 
of activity. But withal, he loves such home 
life as in the brief periods ashore he has 
been able to enjoy, and his devotion to 
his wife, his two sons, and his daughter, is as 
deep seated as are the many other traits 
of his character so admired by the American 
people. 

Now upon the retired list of the Navy, 
having completed a service of great credit, 
even of renown, he will undoubtedly devote 
himself to the completion of a home in which 
to spend the remainder of his honored days, 
that vv<ill be as much of a pleasure and treasure 
to him as has been the gradual gathering of 



AND SANTIAGO 469 

home furnishings which he has been carrying 
out for years. 

Every man, whatever his condition of Hfe 
may be, has a pet theory, no matter how 
nebulous, of what his ideal home should 
be; and perhaps the more active the life 
a man leads, the more he dreams of and 
pictures that home and home life which are 
to be his when the battle and strife are over. 
Ever in the midst of the strenuous life of 
active service he has led, Admiral Schley has 
been gathering material for a home, and when 
he once sits down, surrounded by his lares 
and penates, there will be few more delightful 
homes, or more cordial hosts than will be 
found there. 

I have seen him in the darkness of the night 
on the bridge of his warship, straining his eyes 
for the expected torpedo attack, which, if suc- 
cessful, would in all probability mean no con- 
summation of the dream of home to him. I 
have stood by his side in the heat of battle, 
when among excited men he was the cool one, 
and wondered whether he was giving a thought 
to those at his fireside in the states. And then 
I have seen him in his cabin, carefully laying 



SCHLET 470 

aside this little memento, or that little treasure, 
to send home to his wife or his children, for 
the adornment of what — why, naturally, their 
home. 

For six months his home was the little cabin 
of the cruiser Brooklyn, and his daily prome- 
nade, the quarter-deck of that ship. Every 
one knows of his heroism, his devotion to his 
country, and his splendid qualities of leadership 
as displayed from that steel home on the sea. 
Perhaps it would interest those who know of, 
or who have seen, the ship's cabin in peace 
time, with its beautiful mahogany trimmings, 
the elaborate rugs and hangings, to know just 
how this temporary home of Admiral Schley 
looked. The mahogany lining and decorations 
were ripped out, and, in their place were the 
lead-colored bulwarks of steel plate. The rugs 
and the portieres were gone. The little silk 
curtains from the portholes were missing, and 
in their places were rope nettings to keep the 
splinters from flying, and steel covers to keep 
shells from entering. The only bit of furniture 
left in the big cabin was the round table and a 
couple of chairs. The breeches of two big five- 
inch guns swun^ into this room, and, in the 



AND SANTIAGO 47^ 

little apartment adjoining, sometimes used as 
a sort of second drawing room, the breeches of 
two six-pounders rested. And when a battle 
call was sounded, bare footed, shirtless men 
would stream into the cabins and take posses- 
sion of these guns, the ammunition carriages 
would roll in the heavy shells and ammunition 
cases, and the Admiral's home would be con- 
verted into a veritable pandemonium. Just off 
one side of this general reception room, which 
in times of peace is undoubtedly very attrac- 
tive and pretty, was the one little spot which 
had some semblance of the real home. Here 
was the little brass bedstead, with snowy 
white linen and coverlid, a skin rug on 
the floor, a cheval glass and dresser in 
mahogany, and, separated from this room 
by an attractive portiere, a perfectly appointed 
little bathroom. 

Beside the bed in the Admiral's private 
cabin stood a tiny table, and here and on the 
dresser and walls were the souvenirs of his 
home and family; photographs of his wife and 
children, of his daughter's country place in 
Connecticut, where they had all spent so many 
delightful hours; a few choice books, for the 



SCHLET 472 

Admiral is a constant reader and a fine lin- 
guist, so that literature of various countries was 
continually at hand, and a few little treasures 
such as are always deemed necessary to man's 
comfort and happiness by the women who 
love him. 

It was in the big cabin that the Admiral 
dined, and, here in solitary state, with the 
grim implements of war surrounding him, and 
alone, as naval etiquette demands, unless 
some officers from another ship and of equal 
rank should come aboard, his personal servants 
waited upon him. 

We arrived in New York harbor on the 
morning of the 20th of August. Nobody can 
fail to remember the magnificent welcome 
accorded to the fleet on that day, or the fact 
that Commodore Schley, as his ship came up 
the Narrows, received word that an at least 
temporarily grateful government had promoted 
him to the rank of rear admiral. Two-thirds 
nearly of all the ships and excursion boats 
that gathered to meet the fleet made their 
object of interest the cruiser Brooklyn and Rear- 
Admiral Schley, and it was evident then, as it 
is now, although the sentiment has continued 



AND SANTIAGO 473 

to grow, that the great pubhc had marked him 
as an American naval hero. 

Commodore Schley had been surprised as 
the Brooklyn passed the Texas, to hear a 
rear admiral's salute fired, but when he got 
a little beyond and a press boat threw aboard 
a notification of his promotion, he was as 
joyous as a child. Of his reception ashore, of 
his triumph on the day of the Dewey celebra- 
tion — a triumph second only to Dewey's own 
reception — and of his continual growth in the 
affections of the American people and their 
admiration for his courage in battle and gra- 
ciousness under criticism, every good Amer- 
ican knows. The failure of innuendo, of 
jealous criticism, and of bureaucratic partiality 
is evidenced by the fact that despite the trial 
through which he has been he has emerged 
unscathed, receiving from that other great sea 
warrior and American hero, Admiral George 
Dewey, the following beautiful tribute to the 
closing work of his career, the successful cam- 
paign off southern Cuba. 

Admiral Dewey says: 

* 'In my opinion the passage from Key West 
to Cienfuegos was made by the Flying Squad- 



SCHLET 474 

ron with all possible dispatch, Commodore 
Schley having in view the importance of arriv- 
ing off Cienfuegos with as much coal as pos- 
sible in the ships' bunkers. The blockade of 
Cienfuegos was effective. 

"Commodore Schley, in permitting the 
steamer Adula to enter the harbor of Cien- 
fuegos, expected to gain information concern- 
ing the Spanish squadron from her when she 
came out. 

"The passage from Cienfuegos to a point 
about twenty-two miles south of Santiago was 
made with as much dispatch as was possible 
while keeping the squadron a unit. The block- 
ade of Santiago was effective. 

"Commodore Schley was the senior officer 
of our squadron off Santiago when the Spanish 
squadron attempted to escape. He was in 
absolute command and is entitled to the credit 
due to suchcommandingofficer for the glorious 
victory which resulted in the total destruction 
of the Spanish ships." 



Jf.r, . •2 1. 19^ 



JAN 22 1902 



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